Three wins a great start for LRS fastpitch

Three wins in four games means the LRS Lady Broncos’ fastpitch team is headed in the right direction.

Tuesday, LRS recorded wins in a doubleheader with Moses Lake High School’s C squad, giving the seven eighth grade athletes a chance to gain experience in a high school outing. Going into the games, head coach Paul McAnally said he planned to play a lot of girls in a lot of different positions.

The team took the first game 16-6 in six innings. Jana Mattox got the win as pitcher. Game two belonged to LRS again as they picked up a 14-1 win in five innings behind the pitching of Emma Aldrich. Aldrich delivered eight strikeouts.

Saturday was the season opener against the Cusick varsity and LRS split the outing, winning the first game, 16-6 in five innings. They lost game two, 11-6.

“I felt good about how we put the ball into play in both of those games,” McAnally said of Saturday’s games.

The Lady Broncos took the opening win on 16 runs, 11 hits and five errors, ending the game early thanks to the 10-run rule.

McAnally noted that the win came on base hits and walks. The Lady Broncos had 11 singles in the game and no extra base hits.

Kim Gimmaka connected on three of her four trips to the plate with three RBI. Sara Aldrich was 2 for 4 with two RBI. Emma Aldrich and Emily Kinney each had an RBI.

Emma Aldrich made her varsity debut on the mound, throwing five strike outs, walking two and allowing six hits.

“We came out a little nervous but once we settled down into our game I felt we played pretty well,” McAnally said. “We had a couple of early mistakes. A lot of green mistakes. There are a lot of base running things we need to work on.”

The second game, errors were the difference. The Lady Broncos had nine errors while Mattox worked five innings and allowed just one walk and gave up three hits. Cusick scored eight runs against her, five of which were unearned.

Emma Aldrich finished the game, giving up one hit and three unearned runs.

“Obviously the errors hurt,” McAnally said. “And we just didn’t string a lot of hits together. The big turning point in the game was when Laurel Hayes hit a stinger and a girl caught it and doubles us up at first base in the fifth inning. We had a chance for a big inning.”

Alarah Pierce-Pulliam and Kinney were both 2 for 4 in the game. Kinney had a double. Tessa O’Brien added a double of her own.

Monday’s practice focused on being patient at the plate and developing base running skills.

“Overall we talked about how it was a good first game and building on a positive win,” McAnally said.