Tornados' five runs in the first enough to beat the Rams

The Olympian

YELM - Yelm jumped on North Thurston pitching for five runs in the bottom of the first inning then made that stand for a 5-4 victory over the Rams on Tuesday to improve their Western Cascade Conference fastpitch record to 3-2.

The win moved the Tornados past North Thurston (3-3) in the WCC standings.

"We were able to take advantage of their starting pitcher, produce some hits and get some runs," Yelm coach Lindsay Walton said. "That's good, because their best pitcher is really good."

RBI singles by Ariel Dahlberg and Kathryn Pool, plus a run-scoring fielder's choice by Kassie Cox, helped Yelm establish a 5-1 lead the Rams couldn't overcome.

North Thurston's Jessica Stretch took over in relief in the second inning, and the Tornados didn't score again.

North Thurston scored three runs in the top of the fourth inning and had the tying run on second with two out before Tornados pitcher Jenny Davis struck out the next batter.

"It was a good thing we took advantage of that pitcher," Walton said. "Defensively we played pretty sound, and Davis pitched a pretty good game.

"North Thurston is a good club, and they have some great players. But we were able to hold our own."

Timberline 12, Shelton 2

Annaleisha Parsley's home run in the first inning started a scoring tear for Timberline against the Highclimbers.

Parsley, a junior, drove in three runs and went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double. Marrikka Benson and Ashley Raben also had three hits in four at-bats.

Freshman Taryn Smith (1-2) held Shelton to four hits in five innings on the mound.

Timberline's next game is on the road against Olympia at 4 p.m. Friday

Baseball
North Thurston 12, Clover Park 0

Dane Carlson, Tyler Woolf and Zak Baker combined for a five-inning no-hitter in a mercy-rule shortened win over Clover Park.

The Rams feasted on seven Warriors errors, scoring their 12 runs on just seven hits.

Cody Brooks went 2-for-4 with a double and a pair of RBIs and teammate Ian McKenzie knocked in three runs with a pair of singles.

"We played a good game," Rams coach Lance Baker said. "We hit the ball, played good defense - we did what we needed to do."

Halfway through the season, the Rams rule the 3A Western Cascade Conference with a 6-0 league record and an 8-2 overall mark.

"We've got some good teams coming up - Lakes, Yelm and Timberline - that will come after us," Baker said. "Now we've got to win the second half."

Capital 7, Yelm 2

Capital's Geoff Johnston was 4-for-4 at the plate and drove in a run to help lead the Cougars over Yelm in another WCC battle. On the mound, Brad Jesernig held Yelm scoreless through the first six innings and picked up his third win in four games.

"He's probably our number one guy but everyone's pitching lights out," Capital coach Eric Stark said. "The pitching staff has been the most consistent part of our season."

Jesernig also prevailed at the plate driving in three runs with two hits.

Yelm coach Thad Nelson said there was a "definite improvement" from his players' previous game on Monday when they lost 10-0.

Capital improved to 5-4 overall and 4-2 in league play. Yelm slipped to 1-3 in league and 4-4 overall.

SOUTH KITSAP 5, OLYMPIA 1

Kramer Skidmore's double was the sole highlight of a forgettable performance from the Bears, who couldn't complete the sweep on the road against 4A Narrows opponent South Kitsap.

A home run by the Wolves in the sixth inning increased the lead as Olympia's response was four hits in the game.

"Their pitchers did a good job keeping us off-balance," Olympia coach Todd McDougall said. "They executed almost flawlessly. Our hitters were behind in the count all day."

The Bears slipped to 4-4 overall and host Stadium at 4 p.m. today in a makeup game.

Naches 4, Rochester 3

Jordan Everson pitched a complete game, but the Warriors' offense couldn't scratch out a tying run in Rochester's non-league road loss.

Everson scattered eight hits in the loss, striking out four and walking four. Devon Willadsen went 1-for-3 with a double and Justin Eastman went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Boys soccer
River Ridge 2, Chehalis 0

Brian Serrano had a goal and an assist as the Hawks earned their second 2A Evergreen Conference victory of the season.

Serrano's goal came near the end of the first half on a blast from what coach Loni Smith said was about 40 yards out. In the 57th minute, Serrano set up teammate Bond Christian for a score.

"The guys are finally playing up to the way they know they can play," Smith said. "I think they just got motivated after a few losses."