Snohomish’s Greenlee tosses perfect game vs. Everett (video)

Published 1:30 am Friday, April 27, 2018

SNOHOMISH — Bailey Greenlee admitted afterward that she was counting down the outs.

But during the game, the Snohomish ace pretended not to know what was taking place. After all, it’s considered bad luck to discuss a perfect game as it’s happening.

“Our coach said, ‘Forget about what you know,’” Greenlee said. “And I was like, ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’”

Greenlee continued her dominant season with her second perfect game in 10 days, retiring all 21 batters she faced as the Snohomish softball team remained unbeaten in Wesco 3A play with a 5-0 win over visiting Everett on Friday afternoon.

The victory gave the Panthers (15-1 overall, 14-0 Wesco 3A) a 2.5-game lead over the second-place Seagulls atop the Wesco 3A North.

“I was just really focused on hitting my spots,” Greenlee said. “I feel like the last couple of years I just wanted to blow it by people, and that’s not how you can win games, so I’m just really focused on hitting my spots.”

Greenlee, a senior who recently signed to play Division I softball with Missouri State University, needed just 76 pitches to retire all 21 batters. She recorded seven strikeouts and induced six infield pop-outs and five groundouts against an Everett offense that was averaging 9.5 runs per game.

“She ran the ball in, she ran the ball out (and) she changed speeds a couple of times,” Snohomish coach Lou Kennedy said. “She was dominating.”

It was the second perfect game of the season for Greenlee, who tossed a five-inning perfecto in an April 18 mercy-rule rout of Lynnwood.

The hard-throwing right-hander now has three perfect games and two no-hitters over the past two seasons. This was the first seven-inning perfect game of her prep career.

Greenlee’s perfecto continued a string of mastery against the Seagulls (12-3, 11-2). In five appearances against Everett, she’s allowed a combined three hits and one earned run in 30 innings pitched.

“She’s had our number for the last couple years,” Seagulls coach Mike Millar said.

Greenlee has a 1.71 earned-run average in 82 innings pitched this season. She has recorded 147 strikeouts — an average of 1.8 per inning — and just 32 walks.

“Bailey has always been a good power pitcher, but the thing she’s added to it now is she thinks through her game,” Kennedy said. “She has a plan, no matter who’s coming up.

“It’s the mental part. Physically, she’s always been very strong, very dominant. But now she thinks through her game (and) has a plan.”

Greenlee also did damage with her bat in Friday’s win. She broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth inning, lining a two-out double into the left-center field gap to bring home the game’s first run.

Cleanup hitter Izzy Hansen, the ensuing batter, then lofted a high-arcing, two-run double off the right-field fence to give Snohomish a 3-0 lead.

Taylor Khorrami added a two-run single in the sixth for the Panthers, who have won 14 consecutive games since a March 15 non-league loss to unbeaten Jackson.

Snohomish is 32-0 in conferece play since moving down from Wesco 4A to Wesco 3A prior to last season. The Panthers have won 44 straight league games and are 71-3 in conference play over the last five seasons.

“We’re super deep,” Kennedy said. “I’ve got kids on (junior varsity) that would be starting on a lot of teams. … We have so many seniors, and they’re all hitting very well. They’re all on fire. We’ve played super good defense. Bailey has been owning a lot of teams.

“As long as we make clean plays when she gives up a ball into play, we’re pretty tough to beat.”

Here’s the final out of Snohomish pitcher Bailey Greenlee’s perfect game today against Everett. The Missouri State signee needed just 76 pitches to retire all 21 batters in the 5-0 win. pic.twitter.com/JkmcM5WJh1

— Cameron Van Til (@CameronVanTil) April 28, 2018