Five Taft batters collected three hits Monday, including underclassmen Kyla Knott. who drove in four runs, and Claira Tolan and Olivia Coulter, who scored three times each in a 17-5 nonleague softball victory at Blanchet Catholic.
“I was a little bit nervous when we got there today because we had some girls fighting off illness and it was a very warm day in the Valley,” Taft coach Sandy Stuart said. “Ultimately, though, our offense was strong and we really came to play at the plate.”
Fourth-ranked Taft improved to 16-6 behind junior starter Emma Coulter by scoring five runs in the second inning, four in the third and three in the fourth for a 12-4 lead.
Emma Coulter and junior battery mate Hailee Danneker also had three hits for Taft in the win over eighth-rated PacWest member Blanchet Catholic, which fell to 10-9.
“Emma and Hailee worked hard as the battery in the heat and kept their hitters from doing too much damage,” Stuart said.
Senior Caitlyn Rundstrom, freshman Addie Gates and sophomores Kayla Lininger and Knott all scored twice for Taft, while freshman Chloe Peterson drove in three runs and Emma Coulter and Lininger two each for the Tigers.
“We executed some key offensive moments to get runners in scoring position and we were aggressive on the bases,” said Stuart, whose team collected 21 hits, including nine for extra bases. “We took lots of advantages to score extra runs today.”
The Tigers game against PacWest member Scio on Wednesday was canceled Monday. Senior Night activities to honor Rundstrom, Taft’s lone senior, will be rescheduled, Stuart said.
Taft closes out its regular season with a 3 p.m. doubleheader Friday at No. 1-ranked and undefeated league counterpart Clatskanie.
“Now we have a few days to rest and get healthy,” Stuart said.
Taft 17, Blanchet Catholic 5 TAFT AB R H BI BLANCHET CATHOLIC AB R H BI Hailee Danneker 5 1 3 1 S Barchus 4 1 2 2 Addie Gates 4 2 1 1 K Ruiz 4 1 1 1 Emma Coulter 5 0 3 2 A Davila 4 0 1 0 Kayla Lininger 4 2 2 2 L Jensen 3 1 1 1 Olivia Coulter 5 3 3 0 H Ostby 3 0 0 0 Claira Tolan 4 3 3 1 A Jones 3 0 0 0 Kyla Knott 4 2 3 4 L Elmore 3 0 1 1 Lily Hatton 5 1 1 1 O Banning 3 1 0 0 Chloe Peterson 4 1 2 3 S Archer 3 1 1 0 Caitlyn Rundstrom 0 2 0 0 TOTALS 40 17 21 15 TOTALS 30 5 7 5 TAFT 054 310 4 -- 17 BLANCHET CATHOLIC 004 010 0 -- 5 LOB--TAFT 6, BLANCHET CATHOLIC 9. E--Kyla Knott, K Ruiz, S Archer. 2B--Kyla Knott, Addie Gates, Kayla Lininger, Hailee Danneker, Chloe Peterson, Claira Tolan, Emma Coulter (2), S Barchus. 3B--Chloe Peterson, K Ruiz, L Jensen. SACB--Kyla Knott, Claira Tolan. SB--Kyla Knott, Addie Gates, Hailee Danneker (2), Claira Tolan. TAFT IP H R ER BB SO HR Emma Coulter 7.00 7 5 5 5 7 0 BLANCHET CATHOLIC A Davila 5.00 16 13 13 2 1 0 S Barchus 2.00 5 4 4 0 2 0 PB--L Jensen (2). SO--Kyla Knott, Kayla Lininger, Lily Hatton, K Ruiz (2), O Banning, S Archer, A Davila, A Jones, L Elmore. BB--Addie Gates, Kayla Lininger, O Banning, L Jensen, H Ostby, A Jones, L Elmore.
