Taft High got a team-high five hits over two games from sophomore Kayla Lininger and an opening-game shutout from junior starting pitcher Emma Coulter to split a league softball doubleheader Friday at Rainier.
“We came out super aggressive and loose in the first game and beat their top ace pitcher,” Taft coach Sandy Stuart said following a 5-0 win in the opener and 7-3 defeat in the second game.
Lininger led the Tigers with three hits and two runs in the first game, and junior catcher Hailee Danneker homered in the five-run win behind Coulter, who limited Rainier to three hits.
“It was a great offensive game for us,” Stuart said. “We were confident and had some excellent extra-base hits with runners on.”
Chloe Peterson had two hits and fellow freshman Olivia Coulter drove home two runs for Taft, which jumped on top 2-0 in the first inning and added runs in the third, fourth and sixth.
Lininger, Peterson and the Coulter sisters all doubled in the opener.
“I was very proud of our offensive strength,” Stuart said. “We also had some great defense and Emma held command on the mound in the shutout.”
Emma Coulter and sophomore Kyla Knott joined Lininger with two hits each in the four-run defeat in the second game, while Lininger drove in two runs and sophomore Claira Tolan one for Taft.
“For the second game we faced Rainier’s second, slower pitcher and she gave us a little bit of trouble,” Stuart said. “Adjusting down to the slower speeds has been a struggle for us. The ball looks so big and floats right in and we tried to do too much with it, lifting pop flies and slower grounders.
“We also have only one pitcher and, while Emma worked hard and did a great job all 14 innings, they got to see so many more of her pitches and make adjustments to their own at-bats. We also had some defensive miscues that hurt us.”
Rainier broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the fourth after the teams traded runs in the first and third innings. The Columbians scored three times in the last of the sixth after the Tigers closed the gap to 4-3 in the top half of the inning.
Danneker, freshman Addie Gates and Olivia Coulter scored for Taft.
“Overall we played great softball today against a very tough team,” Stuart said. “We are growing and coming together nicely as the season progresses. It’s exciting to see.”
Eighth-rated Taft moved to 12-6 overall and 4-3 in Special District 1 play with the split, while Rainier stands 10-6, 4-2.
The Tigers return to action at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Warrenton.
Game 1 Taft 5, Rainier 0 TAFT AB R H BI RAINIER AB R H BI Hailee Danneker 3 1 1 1 P Kellar 4 0 0 0 Addie Gates 3 0 0 0 J Larsen 3 0 0 0 Emma Coulter 4 1 1 0 R Schimmel 3 0 1 0 Kayla Lininger 4 2 3 0 R O'Brien 2 0 0 0 Olivia Coulter 4 0 1 2 T King 3 0 1 0 Claira Tolan 3 0 1 0 E Melvin 3 0 0 0 Lily Hatton 4 0 0 0 K Brusco 3 0 1 0 Kyla Knott 3 0 0 0 A Crape 2 0 0 0 Chloe Peterson 3 1 2 0 K Howell 2 0 0 0 TOTALS 31 5 9 3 TOTALS 25 0 3 0 TAFT 201 101 0 -- 5 RAINIER 000 000 0 -- 0 LOB--TAFT 8, RAINIER 7. E--Lily Hatton (2), P Kellar, R Schimmel. 2B--Kayla Lininger, Olivia Coulter, Chloe Peterson, Emma Coulter, R Schimmel. HR--Hailee Danneker. SACB--Addie Gates. TAFT IP H R ER BB SO HR Emma Coulter 7.00 3 0 0 3 4 0 RAINIER T King 7.00 9 5 3 2 3 1 PB--R O'Brien. WP--T King. SO--Addie Gates, Lily Hatton, Olivia Coulter, R O'Brien, K Brusco, K Howell, P Kellar. BB--Hailee Danneker, Claira Tolan, R O'Brien, A Crape, K Howell.
Game 2 Rainier 7, Taft 3 TAFT AB R H BI RAINIER AB R H BI Hailee Danneker 3 1 0 0 P Kellar 4 1 2 1 Addie Gates 3 1 1 0 J Larsen 4 0 1 1 Emma Coulter 3 0 2 0 R Schimmel 4 1 2 0 Kayla Lininger 2 0 2 2 R O'Brien 3 0 0 0 Olivia Coulter 3 1 1 0 T King 3 0 0 0 Claira Tolan 3 0 1 1 E Melvin 2 2 1 0 Lily Hatton 2 0 0 0 K Brusco 3 1 1 1 Caitlyn Rundstrom 1 0 0 0 J Knox 2 1 0 0 Kyla Knott 3 0 2 0 K Howell 2 1 1 1 Chloe Peterson 3 0 0 0 TOTALS 26 3 9 3 TOTALS 27 7 8 4 TAFT 101 001 0 -- 3 RAINIER 101 203 x -- 7 LOB--TAFT 5, RAINIER 5. E--Lily Hatton (3), Chloe Peterson, Claira Tolan, J Knox. 2B--E Melvin. 3B--Claira Tolan, K Brusco. HBP--Addie Gates, J Knox, K Howell. SACF--Kayla Lininger. SB--P Kellar. TAFT IP H R ER BB SO HR Emma Coulter 6.00 8 7 4 1 4 0 RAINIER K Cook 7.00 9 3 3 1 2 0 PB--Hailee Danneker, R O'Brien. SO--Caitlyn Rundstrom, Lily Hatton, R O'Brien, K Howell, E Melvin, R Schimmel. BB--Hailee Danneker, E Melvin.
