Fresh off a three-game sweep of LaConner, the Archbishop Thomas Murphy softball team appears poised to defend its Northwest 1A League championship.

Before any celebrations can take place, the Wildcats have to get by a tough Friday Harbor team in a doubleheader scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday, May 1).

Archbishop Murphy beat the second-place Wolves 2-0 earlier in the season.

“They have a good hitting team,” said Wildcats coach Bruce Foxe. “They’re hitting the heck out of the ball.”

Though Archbishop Murphy beat LaConner 12-2 and 10-0 in an April 24 doubleheader, Foxe indicated the Wildcats still need to work on their offense.

“The bats are kind of Jekyll and Hyde,” he said.

To remedy the situation, Foxe was planning to do some video work with his players this week. Players would be videotaped and then would spend time with Foxe reviewing their swings.

“We break it down frame by frame,” he said. “One at a time we’ll point out things that they need to work on.”

Both of Archbishop Murphy’s two pitchers have had excellent seasons. Sophomore Kaitlyn Kennedy has not allowed an earned run all season long, while freshman Kayelynne Huggins’ ERA is in the 0.40 range.

“They bring a different variety of pitches,” Foxe said.