Tigers Try To Tame Riverside

PRESCOTT - It was a mixed bag Tuesday for the WP Tigers Softball team that came from behind in both games against Riverside, losing the first by one point, 9-8, and winning the second game, 15-10.

"We had a lot of mental errors in the first game," head coach Angie Potts said. "The girls battle back when they're down."

The WP Tigers didn't know what to expect from Riverside on Tuesday because they had never played them before, Potts said.

In the third inning of the first game, the Tigers started out slow and were down, 4-1. There were lots of low pitches from Riverside, but the Tigers didn't always answer on the great pitches. Dionna Baker hit the ball, but it was caught and she couldn't get on base. She was followed up by Hailey Goenen who hit a double. Goenen later stole third base and showed Riverside some of what was to come.

Katy Hofer later got on base and followed Goenen's lead, stealing to third.

Baker later upped the ante and told Riverside she meant business with a grand slam that gave the Tigers the edge.

Jennifer Nichols was the main pitcher in the first game and helped out on defense to get her team to keep the score low, 9-8.

In the second game, the Tigers came from behind again. It was just 2-0 by the third inning and the Tigers really decided to work on stopping Riverside. There were some first base errors in the second game, but WP pitcher Sydney Eng threw some fast balls that made the Riverside girls' heads spin.

At the bottom of the fourth, the Tigers kept it coming with a Chelsea Brannock triple.

Goenen later made another great hit that was caught, but allowed a run to come in. Rhiannon Chapman followed that up with a double of her own and Heidi Miller added a triple and was tagged trying to get home.

It took less time in the second game for the Tigers to catch up to Riverside and as the game wore on, WP kept getting ahead. A couple of WP popups got some girls on base and the Tigers capitalized on some Riverside errors to put more points on the board. Sam Moss hit a triple that brought in two players and tied the score, 10-10.

The Tigers kept racking the runs up until the score was 15-10, Tigers, and the umpires called the game because the field was getting too dark.

"It kind of looks like the girls are getting bored if it's too easy," Potts said of her team's need to be challenged.

Highlights of Potts' day include Baker's grand slam, Miller's triple and the great catches by Rhiannon Chapman, Goenen and Sam Moss.

She said it is good Riverside was a challenging team to play because the Tigers need to get ready to play Dayton, the school's rival, on Saturday.

"I'm glad they were really close games," Potts said. "It helps us get ready for Dayton."