The Vikings fastpitch squad got revenge against one of their biggest rivals.
Puyallup avenged an early season defeat, cruising to a 8-0 victory against Emerald Ridge on May 1 at Emerald Ridge High School.
Puyallup got on the board in an unconventional way in the top of the third inning when Amanda Goings crushed a ball deep into left center field. Goings hustled around the bases before sliding into homeplate with a rare inside the park home run.
“I don’t think I could have slowed her down if I wanted to,” Vikings coach Tony Batinovich said.
Puyallup’s offense struck again in the top of the fourth inning. Tabitha Tomlinson’s bloop single just over the head of Emerald Ridge first baseman Kimber Rhodes drove in Sophia Jones for Puyallup’s second run. Tara Dorsey’s double later in the inning scored Danielle Carviveau and Tomlinson, giving the Vikings a 4-0 advantage. Puyallup tacked on two more runs when Becky Brooks and Goings crossed the plate in the top of the fifth because of two Emerald Ridge errors, extending their lead to 6-0. In the top of the seventh, Kylee Chesney ripped a single up the middle scoring Amber Tomlinson and Carviveau for Puyallup’s final runs of the game.
Emerald Ridge coach Lynn Wardle said Puyallup was clicking on all cylinders offensively.
“Puyallup is a tough team. That’s the hardest I’ve seen Puyallup hit the ball against us,” Wardle said. “They hit the ball hard into the right places. We hit the ball hard but it was right at people.”
Despite the loss, Wardle feels confident in his teams’ ability to perform well in the postseason. Emerald Ridge is the No. 2 seed in the league playoffs.
“I’m not too worried. It’s a tough game to lose but we’ve still got plenty more to play,” Wardle said. “A loss similar to this one happened to us earlier in the season and right after that we played one of our best games as a team. We’ll regroup from this.”
Puyallup’s victory against Emerald Ridge assured themselves of a No. 3 seed in the league playoffs.
“That’s where we wanted to be,” Batinovich said of the No. 3 seed. “We took care of business today and played a full seven-inning game, all 42 outs. I’m proud of every player on my team. It’s been awhile since we’ve beat them and we’ll take it.”
Batinovich said he was glad to see Puyallup batters bats get hot at the right time, which yielded positive results.
“There was a lot of textbook line drives and we got those hits when we needed it,” Batinovich said. “That makes a big difference. That’s what its all about.”
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