Sophomore pitcher Emma Coulter threw a five-inning no-hitter, and the top three hitters in the order collected seven hits, drove in seven runs and scored six times Wednesday to lead the Lady Tigers to a 12-2 West Valley League home softball victory over Willamina.
Sophomore catcher Hailee Dannecker went 3-for-3 with a run scored and four RBIs; senior third baseman Naomi Rini 2-for-2 with three runs and two RBIs; and freshman outfielder Kyla Knott 2-for-3 with a run and two RBIs as first-place Taft (9-5, 3-0) won for the third straight time.
“We had one goal for the game and that was to come out loose on offense and collect a lot of hits,” Taft Coach Sandy Stuart said of the game moved to Taft due to wet playing conditions in Willamina. “We definitely swung the bat better today than our last few games. We were more relaxed at the plate and were able to have some solid base hits.”
Coulter and freshman shortstop Caira Tiolan also drove home runs for third-ranked Taft. Senior centerfielder Alyssa Tanksley scored twice, while Tolan, freshman outfielder Makena Cole , freshman second baseman Kayla Lininger and junior outfielder Caitlyn Rundstrom also tallied runs for the Tigers.
“Some of our work is coming together,” Stuart said. “Freshman Kyla Knott is new to left-handed slapping, and she had some amazing hard line drives today. I was very proud of her. I was also proud of some of the other players, like Hailee Danneker, who came out of their slumps and hit the ball hard.”
Willamina fell to 2-13 overall and 0-4 in league play with the loss against Coulter, who struck out six and walked two.
“We are still working on our defense,” Stuart said. “The runs scored against us were caused by errors and were unearned. We have lots of girls playing new positions this season, and we are still trying to get all the kinks worked out.”
Taft returns to action at 4:30 p.m. Friday at home against Dayton.
“We were really excited for sunshine and to get to play ball for the first time in over a week,” Stuart said. “Now, we move forward to Dayton. We have the same goals for Friday’s game — lots and lots of offense.”
Taft 12, Willamina 2
WILLAMINA AB R H BI
Katrina Graham 3 1 0 0
Taryn Hunt 1 0 0 1
McCayla Tuck 3 0 0 0
Andrea Otter 2 0 0 0
Amarisa Mooney 1 0 0 0
Amelia Mooney 2 0 0 0
Jami Grandy 2 0 0 0
Emma Shrabel 2 0 0 0
Lizzy Rust 1 0 0 0
Lexi Molina 1 1 0 0
TOTALS 18 2 0 1
TAFT AB R H BI
Kyla Knott 3 2 2 1
Naomi Rini 2 3 2 2
Hailee Dannecker 3 1 3 4
Emma Coulter 3 0 1 1
Alyssa Tanksley 2 2 0 0
McKenzie Evenson 1 0 0 0
Makena Cole 1 1 0 0
Kayla Lininger 0 1 0 0
Claira Tolan 3 1 1 1
Caitlyn Rundstrom 3 1 0 0
TOTALS 21 12 9 9
WILLAMINA 100 01 — 2
TAFT TIGERS 315 12 — 12
LOB–WILLAMINA 4, TAFT TIGERS 6. ERR–Amelia Mooney, Jami Grandy, McCayla Tuck, Madison Clanton (3), Claira Tolan, Emma Coulter. 3B–Hailee Dannecker. SACB–Taryn Hunt, Naomi Rini. SB–Katrina Graham, Taryn Hunt (2), Naomi Rini (2), Kyla Knott, Hailee Dannecker.
WILLAMINA IP H R ER BB SO HR
Katrina Graham 4.00 6 10 7 8 2 0
Jami Grandy 0.00 3 2 2 0 0 0
TAFT
Emma Coulter 5.00 0 2 0 2 6 0
PB–Amarisa Mooney. WP–Katrina Graham (3). BB–Amarisa Mooney, Taryn Hunt, Naomi Rini, Kyla Knott, Kayla Lininger (3), Hailee Dannecker, Alyssa Tanksley, McKenzie Evenson.
Class 3A West Valley League standings
