RHS vs HHS Softball - By Juliet Polomsky
The Richland Bombers softball team celebrated their tough win against The Hanford Falcons on April 24th, 2024, at the Columbia Playfields. They were honored with the score of 5-4 in the 7th inning when they had to pull out another point before having to play in another inning. Before the game started, the Bombers were on a fifteen-game winning streak of home wins that dated back to last season, while the Falcons were on a six-game streak of away wins that dated back to last season. But one of those streaks had to end today. The energy of the whole field was extreme, and they were both very eager to take home this win against their rival. The teams were getting prepared while parents, fans, and others from the community were coming together to watch this high-stakes game.
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| Photo: Visions of Victory by Don Woolery |
Once the teams went through their warm-ups and the clock hit 5 pm, the announcement of the teams began. Richland is led by statistician Esmeralda Sams and assistant coach Courtney Kent. At the same time, Hanford is led by the head coach Mick Hokanson. It started with both teams being announced, and then Richland started out on the field to defend; #12 Emily Moore started pitching with a very consistent and fast arm. Hanford was up to bat first; #1 Sydney Hogan started the game off strong with a run to first base, and then she stole second base. Sydney Hogan is a very talented sophomore on the Hanford team; she has been playing softball for about 11 years now; she made first-team all-conference as a freshman and second all-region as a freshman. I asked Hogan what keeps her going in this sport for so long, and she replied, "I continue to play because I've put so much time and effort into the sport, and it just makes me happy to be on the field with my friends."
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| Photo: Visions of Victory by Don Woolery |
The intensity continued into inning two when The Bombers were up to bat with #18 Sarah Sweet pitching for The Falcons. #8 Haylee Spaeth hit a single and made her way to first base, then second, then stole third, and finally, she ran to home base. Haylee Spaeth scored the first point of the game! Just after the bases were loaded, #9 Scarlett Hudon was on first, #3 Marlee Cobb was on second, and #11 Christen La Plante was on third, although they did not score any more points off the full bases. Inning three was successful for the Falcons; #1 Sydney Hogan hit a triple to the outfield and ran to third base; she then ran to home base the next available time she could and scored a point for Hanford. "My favorite part about softball is getting to play with my best friend Scarlett and getting to experience life and sports with her."
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| Photo: Metcalf Media (@metcalfmedia_ ) |
To carry on to inning four, it was very fortunate for Richland High due to their addition of a point. #3 Marlee Cobb ran to third, then home when her opportunity came. I asked Marlee what this sport is to her, and she responded, "This sport is where I've made all my close friends and have some of the best memories of playing it with them!" Then, Sydney Hogan snuck up again to earn Hanford another point; she stole third base and then stole home base. The Falcons were in the lead, but The Bombers were not going to have that; in the same inning, #7 Sophia Sams came to earn Richland another point when she stole third and then ran to home base to keep up with Hanford. Hogan came in the sixth inning with the dedication to earn her team another point; she hit a home run, allowing her and #2 Haylee Velasco to get two more points for their team. Starting off the seventh inning, the score was tied to 4-4. #8 Haylee Speath made the winning point and quickly started to celebrate with her team. The excitement was spread throughout the field and shown by the Bomber families.
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| Photo: Metcalf Media (@metcalfmedia_ ) |
Although Sydney Hogan did an amazing job throughout the game to help her team keep up with the Bomber's points, she said after the game, "I wanted to win that game so bad, and I put my everything into it. Hitting my home run was definitely a huge turning point in the game, though, because that made us ahead, but they came back. We are definitely ready as a whole team now to come back and compete tomorrow." This game was very extreme between the two long-time rivals, but at the end of the game, the teams came together to shake hands, and the players were able to see their best friends from the opposing team.
