By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
SALEM, Ore.– The Southridge softball team loaded up the bases with no outs on the board trailing 6-0 to West Salem in the 6A State Second Round Wednesday evening.
It has been a while since the Titans had gotten out of the second round. 2015, to be exact.
But they went to work. Braeli Martin got the first out by strikeout before Aubrey Peil caught the second out with a fly out at second base. Peil turned the final out to close out the game and keep the Skyhawks from possibly mounting a comeback.
“The communication and we all talked on the field, and we just had each other’s backs. It was a good team effort,” said Peil.
Martin struck out 12 batters and only allowed four hits. The senior had a no-hitter going and out in the fifth before Megan Ivey broke the bid up, but Martin had a one-hitter going into the sixth when Southridge had the first of two pressure situations when they brought the tying run in a then 3-0 game to the plate.
West Salem got out of that jam going into the bottom half of the sixth inning.
“It’s easy pitching, knowing i can trust my defense to make good plays,” said Martin.
The Titan runs came from three home runs, one each from Courtney Gills, Aubrey Peil, and Lucy Duvall.
Peil’s home run was a solo Home Run in the bottom half of the first inning. Olivia Nunez and Gills each drove in runs in that first inning that had West up 3-0 before the Skyhawks Sloan Swensen held the Titans off the board until the bottom half of the sixth.
Swensen, a senior, held West Salem to six hits while striking out two.
But the Titans began to get the bats going again in the sixth when Duvall (two-run home run) and Gills (solo Home Run) hit their home runs to help give West Salem a comfortable cushion to close out the game.
The win set up a rematch with North Medford on Medford on Friday. The two met over Spring Break with the Black Tornado, taking the March 25 game 4-3.
“We can focus on what we can do and not play down, play up, and play our game. Just being confident at the plate and in the field,” said Peil.
“They’re good at small ball, so it comes down to preparation and how we go about their small ball,” starts Martin. “Just keep our energy keep our approach hitting wise, and i think it’ll be a good game. “
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
