Diamond roundup: Central Catholic softball makes it 11 in a row with 10-3 win over Sandy

Published 9:37 pm Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Sandy was able to get a big hit late, but for most of the afternoon Central Catholic High School softball’s Gracie Huston was nearly unhittable Wednesday, April 24 at Sandy High School.

The senior finished the night with 17 strikeouts en route to her Rams winning 10-3 and staying unbeaten in Mt. Hood Conference play at 5-0.

The win marks 11 in a row for Central Catholic (15-2, 5-0 MHC) while Sandy falls to 7-11 on the year, 1-4 in the MHC.

“(Huston) is an absolute workhorse and she’s someone who gets better every time she gets the ball and every inning she seems to get a little bit stronger,” Rams head coach TJ Pruneda said. “She’s so good that even when she misses spots, she capitalizes.”

Speaking of capitalizing, Rams freshman Olivia Pompetti has done exactly that this season and wasted no time on Wednesday with a double to center that scored Elle Merlino and put CC up 1-0 in the first inning.

Sandy went down in order and it was Ava Rose’s turn in the second inning, squeezing an infield single to bring home a run and make it 2-0 Rams.

An error followed by three strikeouts from Huston got the Rams back in the dugout with the pitcher already up to five Ks through two. And then she helped her cause with an RBI single to right field.

Sandy snuck in a run in the third after Huston hit a batter with two outs. Kaylee Swanson got the Pioneers’ first hit of the day soon after, which brought home the runner to make it 3-1.

Pompetti went back to work though for Central Catholic, singling to center once more and bringing home two runners, 5-1 Rams in front.

Huston struck out two, gave up a walk then struck another batter out to keep her hot day going in the circle in the fourth.

Central Catholic finally broke the game open in the sixth when Merlino tripled to left-center field, bringing home two runs. Pompetti followed with an RBI double, Da’Liese Lomax had an RBI triple and then scored on a groundout by Huston to make it 10-1 Rams.

Sandy got some late fireworks from Kendall Wickizer. The senior hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh to inch a little closer, but Huston followed it up with her 17th and final K of the night.

“It’s easy to play behind (Huston) because she’s one of my best friends, best teammates,” Merlino said. “It’s easy to want to win when you have someone working hard for you. You just want to work hard for them.”

Huston gave up five hits and three runs along with those 17 strikeouts and one walk. Pompetti went 4-for-4 with three RBI, taking her season total to 35 RBI and she’s batting .550.

Weather permitting, the Rams are set to take on Nelson next in a pivotal MHC showdown at 3:45 p.m. Friday at Delta Park.

Around the diamond

McDaniel (11-5, 8-1 PIL) softball for the second consecutive day needed some seventh-inning magic to stay atop the PIL standings in a 3-2 win over Cleveland (7-11, 5-5 PIL).

Trailing 2-1 going into the bottom of the seventh, the Mountain Lions had to find a way to squeeze across at least one run. Lucy Anderson got it going with a single back to the pitcher.

The rally wouldn’t take much longer though as junior Anna Gladwin took the fourth pitch of her at bat to center for a walkoff home run, leaving her 2-for-4 on the day.

McDaniel is set to take on Franklin, the first and second place teams in the PIL at 4:30 p.m. Friday at McDaniel, weather permitting.

Speaking of Franklin (11-7, 9-2 PIL), it kept pace in the PIL race again with a blowout win over Lincoln (1-16, 0-10 PIL) in a 17-2 win. Hannah Churchill went 3-for-3 with three RBI and three runs scored, along with a triple in the game.

Roosevelt (5-9, 3-6 PIL) got back in the win column thanks to three runs each in the fifth and sixth inning of an 8-6 win over Grant (5-12, 4-7 PIL).

Leslie Homan finished the day 3-for-4, including the three-run home run in the top of the sixth that put the Roughriders ahead 8-6.

Switching to baseball, Central Catholic (10-7, 4-4 MHC) dominated that diamond as well with a 17-3 win over Reynolds.

Cade Gehlen went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored to lead the offensive attack.

Lincoln (10-7, 8-0 PIL) is still unbeaten in league play following a 12-4 win over Cleveland (8-10, 5-6 PIL).

Gabriel Coltman went 2-for-4 with three RBI while Quinn Stevens remained hot with a 2-for-4 day with one RBI and three runs scored.

The Cleveland loss opened the door for Grant (11-6, 6-5 PIL) to take over sole possession of third place in the PIL with an 8-2 win over Franklin (4-11, 3-8 PIL).

Diego Martinez Griffin went 2-for-4 with four RBIs, two of those coming via a two-run home run in the seventh. Rafferty Cruikshank went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and Jinki Tomita pitched a gem, going 6.1 innings with one hit, two runs and 15 strikeouts compared to two walks.

Finally, Ida B. Wells (12-3, 7-1 PIL) had no problem with Roosevelt (2-14, 0-8 PIL), downing the Riders 17-2.

Quin Dufort went 3-for-3 at the plate with three RBI and three runs scored while also pitching four innings and giving up only two hits and two unearned runs along with nine Ks and two walks. Cody Roletto was 2-for-3 with four RBI and Griffin Scott was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI.