Pros girls grind out 6-0 state playoff victory over Pirates

Published 4:59 pm Wednesday, May 23, 2018

The Grant Union Prospector girls advance to the OSAA 3A Softball State Championship quarterfinals after shutting out the Riverside/Arlington Pirates 6-0 on Wednesday, May 23, in John Day.

The Prospectors will host Clatskanie Tigers at 3 p.m. Friday, May 25, in John Day.

This is the first time Grant Union has advanced to the state quarterfinals in at least five years, said Prospector head coach Zach Williams.

Grant Union’s Mariah Moulton fired up the Prospectors with a 2-run home run in the bottom of the first inning in Wednesday, batting in Whitney McClellan who, at the top of the order, tripled in her first at-bat of the game.

Prospector starting pitcher Cody Jo Madden was cool in the circle, pitching the first four innings.

Moulton relieved in the fifth and Brianna Zweygardt closed it in the seventh.

“Cody, as she always does, gave us a great opportunity by coming out and throwing strikes and getting ahead of hitters and getting outs,” Williams said.

A team effort in the top of the third left three Pirates on base.

Prospector first baseman Macy Strong caught for an out, and then Riverside loaded the bases.

Right fielder Taylor Allen caught for an out, and Tressa Ranft, at center, followed for the final out of the inning.

Grant Union came back to life in the bottom of the fifth after a lull in offense.

Zweygardt singled to score Hailie Wright, to give the Prospectors a 3-0 lead.

In the sixth, Wright doubled, sending Madi McKrola and Macy Strong home, and Zweygardt again singled for another RBI, with Wright making it home. This brought the score to 6-0.

Zweygardt finished things off in the seventh with two strikeouts and Strong also caught for an out.

“We played solid defense, we hit the ball OK and pitched well,” Williams said. “They all did a good job.”

He said some of the girls struggled in the lineup.

“That’s a tough pitcher,” Williams said. “That’s the thing with Riverside, that girl’s certainly a No. 1 pitcher — she’s a good thrower. We knew how it was going to be — we had to hit the ball — if we put it in play hard, we could win that game.”

Moulton said she was glad to see a big local crowd out for the game.

“We came to play and just grinded it out,” she said. “I was super happy to see everyone show up, I hope everyone shows up Friday.”

McClellan said the team is excited.

“I knew we could get this far, so now we just need to play like we can,” she said. “Each at-bat someone was getting good hits and powering through.”

Williams said the team will be working in the batting cages.

They’ll “speed up the pitching, speed up the bats and be selective — choose good pitches,” he said. “That’s always the key.”

Grant Union is ranked No. 4 among OSAA’s 3A teams with a 22-2 overall record. They are champions of Special District 2. Out of 24 games, they’ve scored 348 runs and allowed 49 runs.

Clatskanie is ranked No. 5 with a 21-3 overall record. They placed second to Rainier (No. 3 in state) in the Lewis and Clark League. Out of 24 games they scored 268 runs and allowed 86 runs.