T-Birds back frosh pitcher with 12-hit attack, top Black Hills

These teams that should know each other best met for the first time this rain-dampened spring on the fastpitch diamond.

After spotting Black Hills a first-inning run, Tumwater scored in every inning but one in a 12-2, 10-run-rule victory over its townie rival Thursday at Tumwater.

Tumwater freshman starter Savannah Owen surrendered a home run to Wolves senior Kassi Ward on the second pitch of the game.

Owen barely noticed. She gave up just one more run the rest of the way in a four-hit victory. She walked no one, and her five strikeouts came consecutively spanning the fourth and fifth innings.

“I rely a lot on my catcher,” Owen said. “I felt confident in my catcher (fellow freshman Ashley May) and what she was calling.”

The T-Bird offense backed the pitcher with a 12-hit attack. Tumwater assistant coach Tim Slavin was just happy to be playing a game after too many wet days driven indoors for practice.

“It was good to get some dirt time,” Slavin said after the T-Birds improved to 7-4 overall, 5-2 in 2A Evergreen Conference play

Black Hills coach Jonathan Paul said he urged his team (4-4 overall, 4-4 in EvCo) to have “short memories” — these two teams play right away again at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Black Hills.

“We’ve done a great job of not extending innings,” Slavin said. “Today we were out of rhythm.”

After the Ward homer, Tumwater countered with four runs in the bottom of the first off Black Hills starter Elsa Veria-Means. Sawyer Vessey and Myiah Seaton opened with back-to-back singles, one run came in on a wild pitch and Madison Pleasant earned an RBI with a sacrifice fly. Two bases on balls later, May cracked a two-run single.

The Wolves got one back in the second when Sariah Payne doubled and came home on a single by Kayla Chambers.

Seaton made it 5-2 in the bottom of the second with a solo home run to left center.

Sarah Potwin and Katie Cunningham had base hits, and Ellaney Jelcick and Ali Carpenter earned RBIs on infield grounders in a three-run T-Bird third inning that pushed their lead to 8-2.

Jelcick and Vessey contributed back-to-back RBI doubles in a four-run fifth that closed out the Wolves.

The T-Birds have two games left with EvCo leader W.F. West and one remaining against Black Hills after tomorrow’s quick-turnaround game. Conference teams are angling for four spots in the District 4 playoffs.

This story was originally published April 27, 2017 at 7:56 PM with the headline "T-Birds back frosh pitcher with 12-hit attack, top Black Hills."