Eastlake fastpitch can’t complete comeback against Bothell
April 27, 2010
By Christopher Huber
Eastlake pitcher Nicole Guptil was on the verge of stranding three Bothell base runners in the top of the eighth inning when Cougar freshman Arista Honey stepped up to the plate.
The Lady Wolves had battled back all game to tie the score at six. Eastlake had two outs and Honey was 0-for-3 on the day. But she was due.
Honey drove in the winning run for Bothell on an RBI single to right field. The visiting Cougars won 7-6 after Eastlake failed to score any runs in its half of the eighth.
“I was just trying to hit the ball,” Honey said about winning the game for her team. “This was kind of a first-time thing (for me).”
The win put Bothell at 4-5 overall and 4-3 in conference action. Eastlake went to 6-4 overall, 3-3 in conference play.
“They put some hits together,” said Bothell head coach Rob Luckey of Eastlake. “That’s a good team there.”
The Cougars made Eastlake and the home crowd nervous in the first inning, scoring six runs on six hits and three walks. Guptil struggled early and was replaced before the first was over.
She returned to the mound in the second and helped Eastlake find its stride on defense.
After Bothell’s hit parade in the first, Eastlake held the girls in blue and white to six hits for the rest of the game.
“Guptil made some great pitches when she had to,” Luckey said.
Despite walking seven, Guptil struck out six Bothell batters as the Eastlake infield executed key plays to keep runners off the base path.
“She regained herself,” said Eastlake coach Al Leaverenz.
The girls of Eastlake scored two in the third inning when sophomore Lexie Jaeger drove one in on a sacrifice fly. Guptil, who had a successful day at the plate, scored teammate Stephanie Clay on a single to make it 6-2.
The Lady Wolves equalized it in the fourth when Clay, a sophomore second-baseman, nailed a bases-loaded double that just barely bounced fair down the third-base line and into left field.
The hit drove in three runners and turned the momentum for Eastlake.
Guptil tied the game up after she lined a single to left field, scoring Clay from third. Guptil finished 3-for-4, Jaeger was 2-for-4 with two singles.
Honey said she was impressed with Eastlake’s ability to make something out of every at-bat. The girls worked the count and didn’t just pop the ball up every time.
“Some of their hitters did a good job of hitting it down the line,” Honey said.
Bothell’s Kendra Heyer went 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Brianna Kastning finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Sammy Morris was 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
Eastlake’s Sammi Stavig finished 1-for-4 with a double in the eighth.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com.
Other Stories of Interest: Eastlake Softball
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