SAN BERNARDINO (Calif.) — Makayla Miller supplied the lightning and Kiley Hubby provided the thunder as South Snohomish Little League rode an early storm into the West Region tournament semifinals.
Miller struck out three of the first four she faced, tossing a four-hitter as the Washington 11- and 12-year-old champions defeated Oregon 10-0 in a mercy-rule shortened five-inning game at Al Houghton Stadium on Wednesday.
“I think everyone believed Oregon was one of the better teams,” Miller said. “We all got a good night of sleep and then we got the bats going.”
“We finally got them going today, and that was huge,” South Snohomish manager Fred Miller said.
The victory propels South Snohomish (4-0) into Thursday’s semifinal round against Utah (3-1) at 5 p.m.
“Our goal wasn’t Oregon but to get to the semifinals — where we are right now — so now we got two games to go,” Fred Miller said.
Hubby’s bat went boom in the first with a two-run triple, and again in the second with a two-run double as South Snohomish built and early 7-0 lead. She reached base three times and finished with a team-high four RBI.
“The last few games I haven’t been hitting so I’m glad to be on top of it,” Hubby said. “I was more aggressive and focused.”
Miller (4-0 record, 0.57 ERA) overcame a 103-degree fever on Monday to win two more games and pitch every inning for South Snohomish thus far, striking out 25 batters in 21 innings.
“Still sick but I feel way better,” Makayla Miller said. “I felt more accurate.”
She only faced the tournament’s top hitter, Oregon’s Isabelle Lewis (8-for-9, eight RBI coming in), twice, striking out Lewis in the first and getting a groundout in the fourth.
“We handled her pretty good,” Fred Miller said.
Oregon (2-2) did not get a runner to third base in losing its second consecutive game.
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