EVERETT — Two of the best pitchers in the Cascade Conference squared off against each other Monday afternoon.
And Shelby Jeffries and Baylee Robertson didn’t disappoint.
Jeffries, Sultan’s star senior, finished with 15 strikeouts in the contest, but it was Robertson, who had 13 strikeouts herself, and Archbishop Murphy that prevailed in a 3-1 victory at Archbishop Murphy High School.
“I love watching those two girls pitch against each other. … It’s really fun to watch those high-level girls battle it out,” said Sultan head coach Garth MacDicken. “We knew it’d be a big pitching battle today. Both girls performed really well. We just had a couple more mistakes. We’re right there. We know we can compete with them. Shelby pitched a great game today and so did Baylee.”
“It’s probably the two best pitchers in the league facing off against each other,” said Archbishop Murphy coach Stephanie Harmon. “We knew it would be a close game.”
Jeffries struck out the side three times and finished with 15 strikeouts in just six innings pitched (Archbishop Murphy did not bat in the bottom of the seventh inning). She allowed two runs in the bottom of the first inning — both on wild pitches — with the Wildcats adding another run late on a throwing error.
With the Turks missing several players due to injury and illness, MacDicken was pleased with his team’s effort.
“Those are little things we can fix,” MacDicken said of the errors. “We feel good that we know if we fix those — we’re still pretty early in the season — we can be where we want at the end of the season.
“We had a girl that got sick and a girl that got hurt and so we’re missing a couple girls and have some girls playing some new positions today. … It’s great knowing that even with a couple girls gone we can play with the best teams in the league. I really feel pretty good, even though we lost 3-1.”
One big area of need was catcher, where junior first baseman and shortstop Rose Kirkpatrick volunteered to the play the position for the first time in her career.
“We had a girl step up and play catcher that has never played it before ever,” MacDicken said. “It’s her first game ever and she did a great job. I’m proud of her. My catcher can’t play this week and I said, ‘Hey we need a catcher.’ Rosie said, ‘I’ll do it.’ First game ever. I thought she did a great job!”
With both teams vying for any runs, Archbishop Murphy struck first early in the game. Alyson Matriotti led off the bottom of the first inning with a triple and Katie Zwiefel reached base after getting hit in the elbow by a pitch. Both players scored on wild pitches before Jeffries — who has signed with Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, California — came back to strike out the next three batters.
“It’s nice to get them but, with the Turks, you never know what’s going to happen. Two isn’t enough,” said Harmon. “Shelby’s a great competitor and we know we have to be on our best game offensively when we face her.”
Natalie Hayward added another run for the Wildcats on a throwing error in the fifth inning.
Sultan (3-2 league, 4-2 overall) got on the board in the top of the sixth when Kayla Downs hit a double and then scored on an error on the play.
That was the only run Robertson and Archbishop Murphy (6-0, 7-0) allowed as the Wildcats completed their first cycle through the Cascade Conference schedule with a perfect league record.
“It’s huge for us,” Harmon said. “This is our first time all the way through. We’ve seen every team now and now we’ll start going back through on Friday. It’s huge to go through undefeated and now we move on to the next two-thirds of the season.”
At Archbishop Murphy H.S.
WP: Baylee Robertson. LP: Shelby Jeffries. Individual highlights: Sultan—Jeffries (6 IP, 15 K), Kayla Downs (1-2, 2B, R), Grace Low (1-3, 2B); Archbishop Murphy—Robertson (7 IP, 13 K), Alyson Matriotti (1-3, 3B, R). Records—Sultan 3-2 league, 4-2 overall. Archbishop Murphy 6-0, 7-0.
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