Home 
Sports Local Sports Lady Cat barrage
Lady Cat barrage
|
Hold on, though, this one meant a little more than the rest. The Bobcats softball team bruised the little yellow ball time and time again during a 10-0 victory against Nestucca Friday. Their 15th 10-run win of the year secured the Class 2A/1A state championship. Truth be told, it wasn’t even close. “There wasn’t any need for a pregame talk,” Union head coach Steve Robertson said. “These girls know what to do and how to do it. They’ve been doing it all season long. No one was going to beat them today.” Union dominated all four postseason games. The Bobcats’ margin of victory during the postseason — 45-3. “That’s amazing,” Robertson said. “This is the best group of girls in the world. It’s been everyone contributing all season long. That’s why we’re so tough to handle.” They’re tough. That might be the biggest understatement of the year — maybe even the past decade or two. Union averaged a shade more than 11 runs per game. Give any pitcher that much support and there’s a good chance they’ll win. But give sophomore Jessy Reynolds half that, and teams might as well start the bus. “We know we can relax when (Jessy) has a lead,” senior Shelbi Williams said. “She knows how to take care of things.” For six innings, 19 batters, Reynolds dominated the Nestucca line-up and dazzled fans from the west side of the state. Jaws dropped as Reynolds navigated through the Nestucca line-up like a surgeon. Fastballs popped in the mitt unscathed 14 times for strike three.
 NEAR PERFECTION: Sophomore Jessy Reynolds delivers a pitch during a no-hit performance. Reynolds struck out 14 in six innings. She earned the Player of the Game honors for her work. - Observer photos/PAUL HARDER Flash back to last season. In the opening round of the state playoffs Nestucca ended the Lady Cats season with a 2-1 win. “That’s all we thought about,” Reynolds said. “There wasn’t any other motivation (we) needed. I didn’t ever imagine it was going to happen like this, though. I was so nervous before the game.” When Reynolds ventured with the off-speed pitch, it looked like a cartoon character literally pulling on a string. The Nestucca batters swung before the ball was halfway to the plate. “She’s been doing that all year long,” Robertson said. “Batters get geared up for that fastball, and her arm motion is so good they can’t see the change-up coming.” Trying to find something that worked, Nestucca took to bunting. Four times they tried, and four times they failed. The only runner to reach base did it the hard way — taking a pitch off the foot. “That’s just (Jessy) being (Jessy),” Robertson said, of his right-hander’s performance. “It’s an amazing game, but we’ve seen it all year long. She came out focused.” Reynolds didn’t confine her dominating performance to the pitching circle. She opened the bottom half of the first inning with a triple off the left-center field wall. Shana Riomondo took that as a cue to open up the scoring. The junior catcher served a sacrifice fly into center field. Two batters later, following a hit batsman, Williams drilled a two-run shot to left field.
 PUT IT ON THE BOARD: Ali Anderson puts the finishing touches on a 10-0 win with a single in the sixth inning. - Observer photos/PAUL HARDER Reynolds helped herself out in the second. Two Nestucca outfielders collided on her line drive to right field. Before the fielders gathered themselves again Reynolds crossed the plate for an inside-the-park home run. Reynolds strung together seven strikeouts from the second to the fourth inning. With no fear of a comeback, the Lady Cat offense kept applying the pressure to the Nestucca defense. In the fourth, Brittany Josephson reached on a walk. She stole second, and advanced to third on a fielder’s choice. Reynolds continued to swing the hot bat, recording a double to score Josephson. Reynolds then came around to score after two passed balls. Reynolds finished the game 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Riomondo, Anderson and Williams collected two hits apiece. Two errors lead to two more Union runs in the fifth. Sensing the end, the Lady Cats went to work in the sixth.
 Union head coach Steve Robertson gets a Cat bath from his players. The Bobcats strolled to the Class 2A/1A State softball title 1 0-0 Friday. Sophomore pitcher Jessy Reynolds fired a no-hitter against Nestucca for the win. See more on page 7A. - The Observer/PAUL HARDER But then stepped in Ali Anderson. The junior laced a pitch into the gap. Moore strode to the plate from third, and ended the game with a little hop to make things official. “It’s been the whole line-up getting hits all year long,” Robertson said. “We never know who’s going to get the big hit, but we know someone will.” Union finished the season 24-1 overall, and will hang the first softball state title banner nest spring. “It’s a great feeling,” Williams said. “That’s how you want to end your senior year. To be a part of school history is an amazing thing.” The Lady Cats will lose Carrie Stratton, Williams and Moore to graduation.
Union 410 221 — 10 10 0 W— Reynolds. L— Measor. 2B— Union, Reynolds, Anderson. 3B— Union, Reynolds. HR —Reynolds, Williams. RBI —Union, Reynolds 2, Riomondo, Williams 2, Anderson, Poe, Roberts. |
