Perennial West Valley power Dayton High gained the inside track to the league’s regular-season softball title Wednesday by turning back a last-inning Taft rally for a 9-7 home victory.
The Class 3A Pirates (17-7, 8-1) regained the state’s top ranking with the two-run victory behind senior starter Ani Heidt, who struck out 10 and walked one against the Tigers (16-8, 8-2).
“We actually played a very tough game on the road in a place where they have a lot of hometown pride and a big fan base,” Taft coach Sandy Stuart said.
Heidt went 3-for-3 with three RBIS, while sophomore catcher Sofia Cicirone was 3-for-4 with two runs scored, Senior shortstop Malina Ray and freshman first baseman Maddie Fluke had two hits each for the Pirates.
Dayton can clinch the league title Thursday with a victory at third-place Amity (11-7, 7-2), which defeated Sheridan 26-5 Wednesday.
“We came from behind and put a lot of runs on the board,” Stuart said. “We scored seven runs on a very good pitcher who has shut out quite a few teams this year. Ultimately, we had a couple of costly errors and couldn’t quite hold on to the game.”
Behind 3-0, Taft scored four runs in the top of the fourth to take the lead, but surrendered two runs in the bottom half of the inning and four in the fifth to trail 9-4 entering the seventh. A three-run rally came up short.
Taft senior third baseman Naomi Rini, senior center fielder Alyssa Tanksley, sophomore catcher Hailee Danneker and sophomore pitcher Emma Coulter had two hits each for Taft, while Danneker drove in three runs and scored twice.
“The important thing is we know that we can compete with, and beat, one of the top teams in the state,” said Stuart, whose Tigers defeated Dayton 4-2 at home on April 20. “Going in to the playoffs and the State tournament, if we play level-headed and play as a team, we can beat anyone.”
The Tigers conclude the regular season with two games next week – at 3:45 p.m. Monday at home against Yamhill-Carlton (10-12, 7-7 4A Oregon West) and at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at third-ranked Scio (21-2, 9-0 3A PacWest).
Dayton 9, Taft 7
TAFT AB R H BI
Kyla Knott 4 1 1 0
Naomi Rini 4 1 2 0
Hailee Danneker 4 2 2 3
Emma Coulter 4 1 2 2
Claira Tolan 4 0 0 0
Alyssa Tanksley 4 1 2 1
Makena Cole 2 0 0 0
McKenzie Evenson 1 0 0 0
Corey VanDamme 3 0 0 1
Kayla Lininger 2 1 1 0
TOTALS 32 7 10 7
DAYTON AB R H BI
Malina Ray 4 2 2 0
Ani Heidt 3 1 3 3
Catie Jacks 2 1 0 1
Kalina Rojas 4 0 1 2
Emily Elliot 4 0 0 0
Sofia Cicirone 4 2 3 0
Maddie Fluke 3 1 2 0
Jodi Desmet 4 1 1 0
Gabby Shadden 2 1 0 2
TOTALS 30 9 12 8
TAFT 000 400 3 — 7
DAYTON 120 240 x — 9
LOB–TAFT 5, DAYTON 8. ERR–Naomi Rini, Alyssa Tanksley, Maddie Fluke. 2B–Alyssa Tanksley, Emma Coulter, Sofia Cicirone, Ani Heidt (2). 3B–Hailee Danneker SACF–Catie Jacks.
TAFT IP H R ER BB SO HR
Emma Coulter 6.00 12 9 7 4 6 0
DAYTON
Ani Heidt 7.00 10 7 6 1 10 0
PB–Sofia Cicirone. WP–Ani Heidt. BB–Kayla Lininger, Maddie Fluke, Ani Heidt, Gabby Shadden, Catie Jacks.
Taft roster/schedule
Class 3A West Valley League standings
Class 3A OSAA rankings
