Maroons outlast Corvallis, pick up second win of season

The Butte Central softball team bounced back from a lopsided defeat at the hands of the Dillon Beavers Monday to get past the Corvallis Blue Devils 10-9 Tuesday afternoon at Stodden Park, The Maroons were far from flawless but showed perseverance after miscues and wound up getting their second win of the season.

Corvallis came out swinging getting a leadoff hit from centerfielder Jadyn Greenwood who would steal second and then be batted in by first baseman Emma Cashell.  Cashell would advance to second off a sacrifice grounder from right fielder McKaia McEwen and would score on a passed ball.  However, Maroon pitcher Hattie Mehring would find her first inning groove striking out 2 of the next 3 batters to retire the side.  The Maroons would strike right back in the first scoring 2 off of the bat of junior Kathryn Lallicker who would go 3 for 3 with a walk.

The Maroons would tack on an additional 2 runs in the second but trailed 5-4 after the top of the fourth inning.  That is when they would do some damage, scoring 4 runs highlighted by a 2-run blast by shortstop Brooke Badovinac.  Butte Central would give the 4 runs right back in the fifth and would trail 9-8 heading into the bottom of the sixth.  Lallicker would draw her only walk of the game with 2 outs and would be driven home by a Badovinac double.  First baseman Jaeden Berger would drive her home while picking up her 3rd RBI and the Maroons would not allow a run in the 7th to preserve the victory.

"They kept competing," Central Head Coach Chunky Thatcher said after the game noting that the team is building on their youth and is looking to keep the momentum going.  "I'm just happy.  They needed it, the girls needed it.  They've got to believe they're not a bad team.  They've just got to do the things that are necessary to compete."