Archbishop Murphy softball holds off Cascade in barn burner

Published 9:31 pm Thursday, March 19, 2026

EVERETT — Archbishop Murphy softball needed to go back to basics.

It took no time for the team to show off its power against Cascade at Phil Johnson Ballfields on Thursday, as sophomore Sarah Fletcher crushed a two-run homer in the top of the first inning, but five of the next six outs were fly balls that died in a Cascade glove.

In the meantime, Cascade managed to tie the game in the bottom of the first and took a 4-2 lead in the second, getting runners on with bunts and tricky grounders. Entering the third inning, Archbishop Murphy coach Megan Dedrick kept the message simple as the visitors tried to wrestle the lead back.

“Staying in the middle of the field, just keeping it simple,” Dedrick said. “Not trying to hit home runs, because we got a lot of power, so sometimes we get stuck swinging too hard. But just keep it in the middle of the field and passing the bat.”

Playing small ball, six consecutive batters reached base for the Wildcats (1-1), who turned the 4-2 deficit into a 6-4 lead. Archbishop Murphy scored four runs in each of the next two innings to build up a 14-5 lead, and while the Bruins (1-3) rallied for six runs in the sixth inning, the Wildcats ultimately held on for a 14-11 victory.

Senior Amaya Hernandez went 4-for-4, driving in three runs to share the game-high with freshman Harper Kilby, who went 1-for-3 with a walk. Ari Dixon (2-for-4) was one of four teammates with a multi-hit day, and the senior struck out 10 batters and walked one through six innings of relief in the circle after Saylah Lopez went through the Cascade order once as the starter.

Archbishop Murphy picked up its first win of the season after starting with a 6-4 loss against Garfield, the reigning 3A State runner-up, on Monday. After losing just one senior from last year’s roster — Wesco All-League Second Team selection Markella Vick — the Wildcats return largely the same group that reached the 2A State quarterfinals last season.

“I think we can go far,” Fletcher said. “If we really tap into all of our talent and put it all together, we can go really far.”

For Cascade, junior Kodie Rasmussen went 4-for-5 with two extra-base hits, two RBI and three runs scored in the leadoff spot.

The Bruins have put up mixed results against a competitive non-league schedule, falling 14-0 to last year’s District 1 3A finalist Sedro-Woolley on Tuesday, but picking up a 5-4 win against reigning Wesco South 3A/2A champion Edmonds-Woodway on Monday and cutting it close with the Wildcats on Thursday.

Cascade brings back seven core players from last year’s team, who were all sophomores. Now upperclassmen, the returners are leading the way for a team that’s cleaning things up defensively, but is taking strides in the right direction overall.

“It’s been some tough teams (that we’ve faced), for sure,” Bruins coach Mike Perrine said. “But you know, what I’ve learned out here, man, is any day, any team can be tough on you. So I’m just trying to get these girls to understand that whoever’s on the other side of the field, that we just play them 110%.”

Cascade faced adversity right away, as Fletcher teed off on the first pitch she saw to give Archbishop Murphy a 2-0 lead as just the second batter of the game. Fletcher saw the pitch come in low and outside, which she said is one of her favorite spots to hit. Regardless, she tries not to overthink while in the batter’s box.

“To be honest, when I go up to the plate, I really don’t think much,” Fletcher said. “I think it’s a good pitch, and I want to hit it as hard as I can.”

Archbishop Murphy put runners on second and third following Fletcher’s homer, but the Bruins got out of the frame without taking further damage. They responded with a leadoff double from Rasmussen, and Mia Walker brought her home with a double down the left field line. Two more batters walked to load the bases, and while freshman Peyton Von Kleeck grounded into a force out at third, she got Walker home for the tying run.

Cascade loaded the bases again in the second inning with a pair of bunts and another reaching on an error, and Ellie Luraghi drew a walk to give her side a 3-2 lead, which Cienna Cannon extended to 4-2 with an RBI groundout to short.

Entering the third with a refocused mindset at the plate, the Wildcats rallied to retake the lead. With runners on the corners, Lopez singled to cut it to 4-3. Kilby plated both the tying and go-ahead runs after reaching on a Cascade fielding error with the bases loaded. Sophia Mazzeo completed the rally with a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Maliya Dixon to make it 6-4.

“I think just like the energy was really up that inning,” Kilby said. “And I think we were all just on a good roll, and we were putting on each other’s energy, and that definitely helped.”

Kilby delivered again in the fourth inning, working up a full count before breaking the game open to 10-4 with a two-run double shortly after Hernandez drove in two runs on a double that slipped under an infielder’s glove.

“Usually when I go for an at-bat like that, I like to get at least an eight-pitch at-bat,” Kilby said. “And just working off of seeing where she was working me, which was a lot of inside. And then she went outside, so I just pushed it out.”

The Bruins tacked on another run on a throwing error in the bottom of the fourth, but Archbishop Murphy stretched the lead to 14-5 by capitalizing on more Cascade errors. Sophia Soul capped the rally with a two-run double to right field.

With hope dwindling, the Bruins made things interesting in the bottom of the sixth. Going through the entire order, Cascade scored four runs on five straight singles to open the frame before tacking on a fifth with a sacrifice bunt from Rasmussen and a double from Marisa Molina with two strikes and two outs. Perrine credited his team’s pitch selection for stringing together the rally.

“Give (Ari Dixon) a lot of credit, man. She’s got a tough rise ball to lay off of,” Perrine said. “But (we were) kind of hitting more down in the zone, and then really just momentum and cheering. This team, we’re our own worst enemy a lot of times, but when we all buy in in the dugout, it just translates to the field.”

The Wildcats stopped the bleeding at 14-11, but went three up, three down in the top of the seventh to give the Bruins a final opportunity to pull even. Lexie Lee immediately got into scoring position by reaching first on a dropped third strike and advancing to second on a throwing error.

“I told (Ari Dixon) to trust her stuff and go right at them,” Dedrick said.

Message received.

Ari Dixon retired the next three batters — the last two via strikeout — to secure the win.