Taft High ace Emma Coulter overcame whipping winds behind steady defense Wednesday to prevail in a pitching duel with Blanchet Catholic for a 2-1 nonleague home softball victory.
“It was definitely a struggle with the wind, for sure, but my defense definitely had my back today, which was nice,” the junior starter said after surrendering just two hits and striking out seven. “The wind was so strong that the balls were getting pushed down the whole time.”
Junior catcher Hailee Danneker and freshman Chole Peterson led Taft with two hits apiece, while Coulter and sophomore Makena Cole drove home a run each. Danneker and freshman Addie Gates scored for the Tigers.
“We had quite a few hits today,” Taft coach Sandy Stuart said as Taft used eight singles and a double by sophomore Claira Tolan to score once in the third and fifth innings. “Unfortunately, we had a second day of stranding quite a few base runners and not getting the timely hits when runners were in scoring position.”
The victory improved fifth-rated Taft to 11-5 overall, while PacWest member Blanchet Catholic, ranked ninth, fell to 9-7.
“Today was a win we needed and a great outing for our young defense,” Stuart said. “We made some great plays.”
Among those were an infield double play and Tolan’s “amazing catch in center field near the end of the game that made a huge impact,” Stuart said.
The Tigers play only one more home game (Wednesday, May 8, against Scio) and 10 away the rest of the regular season, beginning with a 3 p.m. doubleheader Friday at Rainier.
“Now we are focusing one game and one opponent at a time,” Stuart said. “So, we will prepare tomorrow for Rainier and look to take back a game or two there.”
Taft 2, Blanchet Catholic 1 BLANCHET CATHOLIC AB R H BI TAFT AB R H BI S Barchus 3 0 0 1 Hailee Danneker 3 1 2 0 A Davila 3 0 0 0 Addie Gates 2 1 1 0 L Jensen 2 0 0 0 Emma Coulter 2 0 1 1 A Jones 2 0 0 0 Makena Cole 3 0 1 1 S Archer 3 0 0 0 Olivia Coulter 3 0 0 0 H Ostby 3 0 1 0 Claira Tolan 3 0 1 0 S Smith 3 0 0 0 Kyla Knott 3 0 1 0 K Ruiz 2 1 1 0 Corey VanDamme 2 0 0 0 A Feregrino 1 0 0 0 Lily Hatton 1 0 0 0 K Tuttle 1 0 0 0 Chole Peterson 3 0 2 0 TOTALS 23 1 2 1 TOTALS 25 2 9 2 BLANCHET CATHOLIC 000 001 0 -- 1 TAFT 001 010 x -- 2 LOB--BLANCHET CATHOLIC 3, TAFT 8. E--A Feregrino, Makena Cole. 2B--Claira Tolan. 3B--K Ruiz. SACF--Emma Coulter. SB--Hailee Danneker. BLANCHET CATHOLIC IP H R ER BB SO HR A Davila 5.33 8 2 2 2 7 0 S Barchus 0.67 1 0 0 0 1 0 TAFT Emma Coulter 7.00 2 1 1 2 7 0 PB--Hailee Danneker. WP--A Davila. SO--S Smith (3), A Feregrino, S Archer, K Tuttle, A Jones, Kyla Knott, Lily Hatton, Olivia Coulter (2), Makena Cole, Corey VanDamme (2), Emma Coulter. BB--L Jensen, A Jones, Addie Gates, Hailee Danneker.
