Tribune photo by John Byrne - Reed third baseman Shivaun Landeros tries to get down a tag against Spanish Springs baserunner Danica Arterburn during Game 1 action Saturday.
The Cougars nearly shut out the Raiders in the three-game series, but the home team had to settle for 9-0 and 11-1 victories Saturday.
“We set four goals every year and that was one of them,” SSHS softball coach Jeff Davidson said of winning the league title. “We’ve accomplished two and we have some work to do. We have three against McQueen and then we have to get ready for regionals.”
The nightcap of the twin bill ended in the sixth inning due to the 10-run mercy rule after Spanish Springs rallied for five runs and Ashley Decker ended it with a base hit that took a bad hop past Reed first baseman Destinee Levesque.
Decker started the scoring in the game after leading off the opening inning with the first of her three hits in the game. She would score on a wild pitch.
The Cougars (23-1, 15-0 HDL) picked up another run in the first thanks to Karlyn Jones’ sacrifice bunt, which squeezed home Karley Hopkins.
Spanish Springs went up 3-0 in the third on Sydney Darby’s RBI groundout. Darby had two hits.
In the fourth, Hopkins’ second hit of the game plated two runs, pushing the gap to 5-0.
Reed ended its 18-inning scoreless streak versus Spanish Springs when Kristy Pasley singled to center field, driving in pinch runner Sam Terry.
The Purple and Teal added a run in the bottom half of the fifth on back-to-back singles by Darby and Karly Hall. Hall’s shot to center field knocked in courtesy runner Mindy Mikkelson.
But the sixth inning was the big blow. Despite getting the first two batters out, Reed could not get a third. Two errors led to a pair of scores. SSHS pitcher Danica Arterburn helped her cause with an RBI single to shallow left field while Bella Rovens and Decker had back-to-back run-scoring singles to cap the five-run rally.
“We got beat in every facet of the game, so its back to the drawing board for the Raiders,” Reed softball coach Ray Charles said. “Round one is over and we’ll go from there. We didn’t play very well. They played superior and they deserved the two wins.”
The Raiders only had five hits against Spanish Springs’ No. 2 pitcher. Arterburn struck out nine and walked one over six innings.
That was still more hits than Reed got off Jones in the early game. The Cougars’ ace right-hander tossed a two-hitter, while striking out 12 batters and walking none. She faced one batter over the minimum.
The Cougars tagged Levesque, Reed’s ace, for 12 hits. Spanish Springs had two home runs in the game, one of the inside-the-park variety and the other a laser over the fence in left-center field.
Like the second game, Decker got things going in the first. The speedy leadoff hitter reached base on a bunt single, moved to second on a sacrifice and came home on Jones’ two-out double. Darby followed with an RBI single up the middle for a quick 2-0 edge.
With two outs in the second, Rovens sliced a shot down the third-base line that rolled all the way to the fence. She used her wheels and easily circled the bases.
Spanish Springs increased its lead with a three-run third.
Darby doubled in a run and Arterburn and Decker both had RBI singles.
Hopkins laced a liner up the middle to lead off the fourth. Two batters and two outs later, Hall smoked a pitch that got out of the yard in a hurry.
The Cougs scored their final run in the sixth when Hopkins stole home.
Decker, Jones, Darby, Arterburn and Rovens all had two hits in the win, while Darby and Hall each knocked in a pair.
“The team has been focused. We got a great performance off of Karlyn. Danica pitched well and we hit the ball both games,” Davidson said. “I was just extremely pleased with the way the team came out. They were mentally prepared and played well.”
Spanish Springs’ win streak now sits at 22 games and the Cougars will finish up the regular season with a league series against McQueen. The Cougars host the Lancers at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
Reed falls to 18-7 overall and 11-4 in league after suffering its fourth straight loss. The Raiders are at North Valleys Thursday for the first game of the HDL series.
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