Earlier in the season, the Woodland Beavers surprised the Ridgefield Spudders with a comeback win 8-7, on Wednesday, April 30, the Spudders split the season series in commanding fashion on the scoreboard with a 6-1 win.
The Spudders once again went back to creative hitting in order to score. Off the get-go in the first inning, Charlie Harris dropped a sacrifice bunt and advanced Tava Whitlow from second after she started things off with a double. Another sacrifice bunt by Abbey Hite brought in Whitlow for a run.
The Spudders finished with nine hits to the Beavers six base-knocks in the April 30 game.
“The creativeness has to come from me and, you know, the confidence in them, and I think they’re starting to buy into that and seeing that we’re going to score some runs in different ways,” Spudders head coach Kelsey Anchors said.
Not only did Whitlow start with a big hit and score, but her defense throughout the game was as if a shark was in centerfield. Whitlow made light work of multiple fly balls to left and right-center field.
“She’s a beast out there,” Anchors said of Whitlow. “She’s very intent with what she does out there, and even at the plate, she’s my lead-off for a reason, and if she gets on base, a lot of things can happen for us.”
Ridgefield’s Faith Smith pitched a complete game, striking out five, walking none, and giving up six hits with just one run. The Spudders broke away in the fourth inning with four runs and another in the sixth, giving a comfortable lead in order to give up a run in the top half of the seventh.
“I mean, against Woodland, it’s never going to be an easy ballgame,” Anchors said. “Getting that first run of that first inning was a big thing for us. And then, I made a goal for our girls to score every inning, and the challenge to them is when we have runners on is getting them in, and I think that’s the goal of every inning that we have. It feels good walking away with a win.”
The win propelled the Spudders a game ahead of Woodland on April 30 for second place in the 2A Greater St. Helens League. The Spudders have a clearer picture ahead of them with the one-game lead. On Friday, May 2, the Spudders beat Hockinson High School 21-1. They next faced off against Hudson’s Bay High School on Monday, May 5, but results were unavailable at press time. The Spudders conclude league play on Wednesday, May 7, at home against R.A. Long High School at 4:30 p.m.
The Woodland Beavers beat R.A. Long High School on Friday, May 2, with a score of 15-0. They next played Hockinson High School on Monday, May 5 and conclude the league slate on Wednesday, May 7 at Washougal High School at 4 p.m.
The Beavers are familiar with third or fourth place in the league; this year, head coach Tom Christensen believes his squad is a much stronger team as they’ve bought into getting better as a whole.
“It’s actually a lot more fun because I’ve seen so much more growth this year than we have in the past few years,” he said. “Even the seniors, you know, they’re learning new things every game. They’re getting better. They’re adding new skills to their skill set. So it’s fun. It makes coaching really fun.”
