Lady Tigers drop two to Baker

LA GRANDE’S KELLY WALKER fires a pitch during Game 2 of the Lady Tigers’ loss to Baker Friday.

The La Grande softball team is still waiting for things to break its way.

The Lady Tigers fell to Greater Oregon League rival Baker Friday, falling in the opener 8-6 before dropping the second game, 9-8.

“The girls played hard and deserved to win both of those games,” coach Kevin Kohr said.

“We just need to break the voodoo and get that lucky break.”

The teams traded a run in the first inning of Game 1 before the Bulldogs struck for four in the top of the second.

La Grande responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning, but again Baker had an answer with two more in the third to extend the lead to 7-3.

The Lady Tigers chipped away at the lead with a single run in each of the next three innings, but Baker did enough to hold off the charge.

Kelly Walker started the game but was replaced in the third inning by Emily Lawrence, who struck out two in relief.

“Emily came in and quieted the bats. She had good control,” Kohr said.

“The girls battled hard, but we just have trouble getting that third out sometimes.”

Baker finished with 13 hits, while
La Grande had 10.

Brandy Blackman hit a home run for LHS, while Jenny Tracy, Denise Comfort and Walker all had doubles. 

Comfort also had a pair of RBIs.

Sierra Howerton went deep for the Bulldogs, and Darryn McCauley got the win on the mound.

In Game 2 it was the Bulldogs who had to rally late to pull out the win.

After Baker jumped out to a 6-0 lead,
La Grande used a seven-run fourth inning to take its first lead of the day.

“The girls went to work in the fourth. They flat put it together and worked hard to get back in that game,” Kohr said.

Baker responded in the fifth with a run to tie the game before the Lady Tigers regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth.

But Baker wouldn’t go down that easy, and struck for a pair of runs in the top of the seventh and was able to leave town with a sweep of its league foe.

“It’s tough to see the luck not go their (the Lady Tigers) way. They work so hard,” Kohr said.

Tracy had four hits, including a double in the second game, while Walker and Elyse Humphreys each had a double.

Baker had 14 hits to La Grande’s six.

“Defensive-wise we played great. They’re really starting to come together as a ball club. But we have all week to regroup and prepare for Mac-Hi,” Kohr said.

The losses drop LHS to 1-5 in the GOL, while Baker improves to 5-1, tied with McLoughlin for the top spot in the league.

The Lady Tigers have now dropped three straight games and will play host to McLoughlin Saturday starting at 1 p.m.

The Pioneers (8-7, 5-1) swept Ontario this weekend. Mac-Hi won the opener 14-3 and followed that up with a 17-0 drubbing in Game 2.

McLoughlin swept La Grande earlier this season 6-1, 7-5.