The Battle Ground High School softball team has been dominant this season, but met their league match in a 3-2 loss to the Skyview Storm on Friday, April 19.
The Tigers fell behind 2-0 in the bottom of the first after giving up a walk to the leadoff batter, followed by a home run. Battle Ground led the evening with six hits, compared with the Storm’s three. The biggest hit of the night for the Tigers tied it up in the top of the fifth with a triple by Seyah Lindersmith that drove in Hailey Ferguson, and Lindersmith scored on an error on the play.
The Storm regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth to win 3-2. The close loss to the undefeated Storm brought confidence to the Tigers for the next time they face Skyview, slated for 4:30 p.m., Friday, May 3, at home.
“We just have to clean up some of the little things. The girls battled their tails off,” Tigers head coach Jeremy Barr said. “The Skyview fans had big energy today and their dugout had big energy, and I’m just so proud of how hard they battled today. It shows how much heart they have. We had a handful of young kids in the game today, also, and they did big things.”
Zoey Hughes pitched six innings and gave up just three hits on six strikeouts and two walks.
“I know coming in, it’s a good offensive lineup that they have and with Candice [Torgerson] at the plate. She calls a really good game, and it’s just picking the right pitches that they’ll pop up or they’ll hit a ground ball,” Hughes said about her mindset entering an opponent like the Skyview Storm.
Torgerson dominated the game behind the plate with stops on tough pitches, a throw out at third base, and she picked up two hits for the Tigers offense. Barr said she has been nails behind the plate for the Tigers all season.
Torgerson said what has fueled the leap from her sophomore season to junior season has been “lifting and hitting a lot.”
“I hit in the cage almost every day, and it really made a difference, and I’m really happy with the outcome,” she said.
Torgerson finds a love for every aspect of catching, she said.
“I love catching, I love it so much. I love the control. I love being able to call plays and call the pitch,” Torgerson said. “I know I’m like the general and I love it.”
Ferguson and Hughes are committed to play college softball after they graduate from Battle Ground High School this year. Ferguson is committed to play softball at Warner Pacific University and study nursing, while Hughes is committed to Lower Columbia College to play softball and complete her general requirement classes.
“I’m looking forward to honestly being close to home, but also the dynamic. I know they’re a team that isn’t as high in the NAIA level, but it’s all about rebuilding in the program, and I love the coaches that are there,” Ferguson said of her post-high school plans. “I’ve gotten close to a few of the girls, and I’m just looking to rebuild the program and be a part of that when they start rising up and being more competitive with teams.”
Hughes is filling the shoes that Rylee Rehbein left at Battle Ground. Rehbein is pitching for the Division 1 University of Montana softball team.
“I’m excited because I think they have a really good dynamic, and it’s a really good community there,” Hughes said of Lower Columbia College. “I’m just trying to be ready for the next step, going to a four year university and just practicing and seeing what it’s like at that level.”
The Tigers are slated to next play Kelso High School at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, April 26, at home.
