Bulldogs Get Defeated - By Lena Sanchez
After winning at Southridge three days prior with a score of 15-3, the Richland Bombers hosted their doubleheader against the Hermiston Bulldogs on Friday, March 22. The Richland Bombers went into the doubleheader with a winning record of 4-0, and by the end of the first game, they continued their streak, making it their fifth win and an end result of 11-0. Richland is currently 2nd in the MCC behind the Kamiakin Braves, but that won't stop the bombers from striving to keep their winning streak. As of last year, they managed to be MCC Champions.
In the first inning, S Sams starts pitching for the Richland Bombers. S Stewart, #2, is first up to bat for the Hermiston Bulldogs. Stewart hits the ball out to left field, where LaPlante catches the ball and gets Stewart out. The second batter up to bat gets struck out by Sams. After the third out, we begin the bottom of the first inning with W McKay pitching for the Bulldogs, and P Chacon is up to bat for the Bombers. Chacon lets the two first strikes go and then hits a ground ball to shortstop as she runs through first base. Next up to bat for the Bombers is J Brannon. On only the second ball, Brannon hits a line drive out to right field and gets a triple. Chacon scores the first point for the Bombers, making the score 1-0. The bombers get their first out after B Boyce knocks the ball to the Bulldogs shortstop. After Boyce, the pitcher for the Bombers, is up to bat and hits a double that lets Brannon get to home plate and score another point for the Bombers. Following the second out, the Bombers got two more runs from J Bobiles and A Etzel. Hudon hits a ball that pops out to shortstop, ending the first inning.
During the second inning, the Bombers scored one more point from Brannon, making the game score 5-0. Hermiston is still left with nothing. In the bottom of the third inning, the Bombers continued to take the lead over Hermiston, scoring four more runs. Starting off with a home run from Sams. Then, with bases loaded, J Saueressig hits a double that brings in two of the players, E Mohr and A Etzel, putting the score at 8-0. Chacon then gets walked by the second pitcher for the Bulldogs, #24. With the bases loaded again, J Brannon hits a ball to center field and gets out, but LaPlante still scores the last run of the inning. At the end of the third inning, the score was 9-0.
The last scoring inning was the fourth. The bombers attain two more points at the bottom of the fourth. But in the top of the first, Sam still pitching. #3 flies out to Richlands left fielder C LaPlante and is out. Stocker then gets the second out by hitting it to shortstop B Boyce. #17 for the Bulldogs was third up to bat in the inning but got out from hitting a grounder to shortstop and out on first. Now for the last two points of the game. Sams is first up to bat and gets walked on the fourth ball. Mohr next doubles on a line drive, letting J Bobiles advance to third base. Etzel gets out afterward while Bobiles scores, and Mohr moves to third base. Lastly, up to bat, LaPlante hits a single to center field, allowing Mohr to score the final point. After the top of the fifth inning, the mercy rule set in with a final score of 11-0.
Although this might have been a tough game for the Hermiston Bulldogs, they still have to play another game against the Richland Bombers. The upcoming doubleheader game will be tiring for both teams, especially for the Bombers, given the number of runs they got in and not letting Hermiston score. The Bombers still remain positive, according to Brooklynn Boyce and Courtney Ruane. “Our mindset for going into this game is to go in strong and keep our momentum going for the whole seven innings,” says Brooklynn Boyce. Assistant Coach Courtney Ruane said, “In the dugout, we try to keep positive energy and not think about the first game but what's ahead of us.” Both coaches and players continue to stay positive and just focus on what's ahead, not what's in the past. Now they will all go into the second game determined to win!
