East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Kristen Crawford didn’t have her best swing-and-miss stuff while pitching in the first round of the Class 5A state softball playoffs Wednesday, but the Pendleton senior dominated another way. Crawford threw to contact and kept her defense on its toes as the Bucks advanced past Churchill, 7-0.
Crawford might as well have invested in a summer home along the bottom of the strike zone for the amount of time the pitcher spent there. Her sinking pitches caused 14 ground outs over seven innings versus just three in the air.
That kept the game zipping along and sustained the energy in the Pendleton defenders, third baseman Darian Lindsey said.