East Oregonian
HERMISTON — When the last Post Falls batter mercifully popped out to second baseman Mykel Liebe to end the game, Hermiston’s scorecard was plastered with more black diamonds than the nastiest ski slopes in the Swiss Alps.
The Bulldogs (2-0) took both games of a double header with the Trojans, the second coming in a 22-2 walk-a-thon that saw 21 Hermiston batters walked or hit by the pitch.
Post Falls was handing out free passes like they were about to expire in the five-inning shortened game, which put the free swinging Bulldogs in a bit of an uncomfortable place. Sure it was a win, but not really in the way Hermiston wanted to open its season, junior Paige Long said.
The Trojans showed they will have issues with depth in the rotation this season. After pitcher Lexi Butterfield, who threw in the 6-1 Hermiston Game 1 victory, the team’s still searching for other viable arms.
Alexis Murray opened the game in the circle with pitches that looked like skipping stones on a lake. She threw 25 pitches, all but one a ball, and failed to record an out. Carlin Rosetti took over to finish the game, but struggled to find the strike zone as well and hit five batters.
As the game got progressively more out of control — Hermiston led 17-0 after two innings — the Bulldogs on the base started to have some mental lapses when it came to base running. Six Hermiston girls seemed to forget a player
can’t leave her base to lead off until the pitch and were called out. Three Bulldogs made the mistake in the fifth and final inning alone.
“We were just working on our running and just happened to get called out,” said senior Maloree Moss in her most innocent voice. “We were just getting that extra step.”
The first game of the double header was won in a more conventional manner with Paige Long on the mound striking out 11 Trojan batters. The Bulldogs scored two runs in each the fifth and sixth inning to win comfortably 6-1.
Infielder Gracie Flyg went 3-of-4 hitting in the early game with an RBI for the Bulldogs.