Harris\u2019 bat, Duggan\u2019s arm power Falcons past KW and into command of SPSL North softball race<\/b><\/p>\n
Felecia Harris showed that she\u2019s just as deadly with her powerful bat as she is with her golden right arm.<\/p>\n
Kentlake\u2019s University of Washington-bound pitcher\/infielder went 1 for 3 with a key two-run homer last Friday afternoon, and Caitlyn Duggan delivered a gem in the circle, leading the Falcons past Kentwood in a key South Puget Sound League North Division showdown, 5-2.<\/p>\n
Clinging to a 3-1 lead with one out in the top of the fifth, Harris sent a shoulder-high fastball from Kentwood ace Kirsten Shreve deep over the left-center fence, virtually securing the victory.<\/p>\n
The blast meant a lot to Harris, who is recovering from October shoulder surgery and hasn\u2019t been her usual tack-sharp self in the circle this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt felt great. Kirsten is a great pitcher, and anybody is happy getting a good hit, walking, anything off her. Especially hitting a home run felt awesome,\u201d Harris said. \u201cWhen I am not pitching, I have more time to work on my hitting and realize what I am doing there. It felt great to know, even though I wasn\u2019t pitching, I was able to contribute with the bat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Duggan delivered a Harris-like performance in the circle, scattering four hits and striking out nine on a frigid and windy afternoon.<\/p>\n
With the win, the Falcons (8-0 in league, 12-0 overall) gained complete control of the SPSL North race. With four league games remaining, Kentlake now has a two-game cushion on second-place Kentwood (7-2, 9-3).<\/p>\n
It also was Kentlake\u2019s 27th consecutive SPSL North win.<\/p>\n
For the second time in a little more than a week, the Conquerors gave the Falcons all they could handle, only to fall short.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to be the one (that beats them), plain and simple,\u201d Kentwood coach Jason Wisor said. \u201cEverybody wants to be the team that beats them this year because they know they can.\u201d<\/p>\n
The loss overshadowed another impressive performance in the circle from Kentwood\u2019s Shreve, who allowed just five hits and struck out 10. Other than a rough third inning, during which she allowed three runs, and the fifth-inning home run to Harris, Shreve was dominant. She threw 80 of her 118 pitches \u2014 40 of which came in the third inning \u2014 for strikes.<\/p>\n
That third inning, however, proved to be Shreve\u2019s undoing. After two quick outs, Kentlake freshman Jessie Richardson delivered the at-bat of the game, working a 10-pitch walk. Julianne Hartnett followed with a bloop single over third base, setting the stage for Brianne Bilbrey\u2019s RBI single just into left field.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe absolute key at-bat was Richardson,\u201d Kentlake coach Greg Kaas said. \u201cShe hit foul ball after foul ball. She doesn\u2019t have a hit to show for it, but that\u2019s the key to the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Bilbrey\u2019s run-scoring single, Hartnett came home on a passed ball, pushing Kentlake\u2019s lead to 2-0. Two batters later, Lauren Nielsen added to the rally with a laser up the middle, scoring Bilbrey.<\/p>\n
And it all came with two outs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey just got some little bloopers in the gaps … it\u2019s tough to get those,\u201d Shreve said with lament. \u201cThere was nothing I could do about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kentwood\u2019s Jessica Glenn cut the deficit to 3-1 with an RBI single in the bottom half of the third. Glenn added a run-scoring double down the left-field line in the fifth, but it proved to be too little, too late for the Conquerors.<\/p>\n
The loss aside, Shreve wants another crack at the Falcons.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope we see them again,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re a good team, but we\u2019re right up there with them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Felecia Harris showed that she\u2019s just as deadly with her powerful bat as she is with her golden right arm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":6261,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-6260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6260"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6260"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=6260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}