For the final game of the regular season, Kentridge fastpitch had the chance to end the season on a high note and win their sixth straight game and complete the season sweep over Auburn Riverside.
Coming into the game, the two sides were tied for second place at 9-4. The winner would be second in the NPSL behind Tahoma and the loser would take third — a final test before the district tournament a week after.
On May 9, the Chargers’ five-game win streak was snapped in an 8-3 loss on the road at Auburn Riverside.
“This was a great last regular season game. With the competitiveness of the teams and what we are expecting to see in districts, it is going to be like these games more so than not. The girls had a good time minus the loss, but you can see their heart,” Head Coach Rachel Shillinger said.
Under the lights in a competitive playoff-like atmosphere, the Chargers learned a lot from their first loss in 16 days.
“It was a nice battle. It was exciting and a close game. It was hard fought and we just fell apart in one inning. Auburn Riverside made good plays on defense and moved runners around,” Shillinger said.
The Chargers were behind the eight ball for the majority of the game, as in the bottom of the first and second innings when the Ravens pushed a run across in each frame.
In their first meeting back on April 17, the Ravens scored just a single run off right-hander Jo Thompson.
But Thompson’s fortune was not the same on Friday night as it was back on that April afternoon. Thompson threw six innings, allowed seven hits and eight runs with five of them earned, struck out five and walked seven.
Thompson struggled to find the zone against Auburn Riverside as she had a season-high seven walks. The second highest this season was four, back on April 23 against Tahoma, which was their last loss before the current five game winning streak.
The Chargers did end up putting runs on the board and even took the lead in the sixth inning.
“They fight, you know, they don’t give up. That is one of the things they do have, they have a lot of heart,” Shillinger said.
Thompson hit an RBI single, which scored Genesis Miller, who singled with no outs in the fifth. Makenna Bennett brought around Thompson with a single of her own to tie the game at 2-2.
Miller then reached on an error in the sixth and Thompson recorded her second hit of the night, scoring Miller on a double to take the lead.
That was it for the offense, and that was it for the Chargers, as in the bottom of the sixth, Auburn Riverside scored six runs and kept Kentridge off the scoreboard in the seventh.
Kentridge leapfrogged Auburn Riverside in the following days after the district tournament bracket came out. The Chargers are the number four seed and take on Yelm at 10 a.m. May 16 at Kent Service Ballfields.
Talk to us
Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.
To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.
Genesis Miller puts a ball in play against Auburn Riverside. Ben Ray / The Reporter
