MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — The Jackson softball team’s struggles at the plate made an unwelcome return in Tuesday’s key Western Conference 4A South Division game against Mountlake Terrace.
After scoring 16 runs in their last two games against Mariner and Lynnwood, the Timberwolves’ bats fell silent against the Hawks in a 3-0 loss at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Hawks ace Lindsey Woodhouse allowed only one hit in a complete-game performance.
“We’ve cut down on our strikeouts. We’re just not getting base hits,” Jackson coach Mike Moran said. “They’re working hard at it. They’re working every day. We’re getting plenty of swings. Come game time, I just don’t know.”
The Wolfpack (9-8 in the league, 10-9 overall) had runners on in four of the seven innings but was unable to push across any runs.
A pair of runners were caught stealing and the game ended when a Jackson player was called out while trying to advance to second base after the ball was thrown home.
“We’re trying for anything,” Moran said. “We tried a hit and run … I’ve never seen a slump like this ever and I don’t think they have either. Against good teams, we’ve just got to get it done.
“We had some nice balls hit. They made some plays.”
A pair of walks came back to hurt Jackson in the top of the first inning.
Jackson junior Rachel Koenig-Eng issued free passes to Mountlake Terrace’s Briana Knight and Jacque Huden. Koenig-Eng then intentionally walked Jamie Foote to load the bases.
Junior Ashley Skartvedt followed with a deep drive to center field that scored Knight and Huden. Koenig-Eng struck out the next batter, but junior Megan Watson hit a grounder to first base that scored Foote.
“She (Koenig-Eng) is a great pitcher,” Mountlake Terrace coach Kim Stewart said. “If she’s going to give you an inch, you’ve got to jump through it.”
Mountlake Terrace (10-7, 12-7) came into the game also struggling with its offense. The Hawks had lost five straight games and had scored a total of five runs in those contests.
“We haven’t done a good job of scoring runs for (Woodhouse) the last two weeks,” Stewart said. “She absolutely pitched her heart out. But we got them both together today. That helps.”
Mountlake Terrace clinched a berth to districts with the victory.
Everything comes down to the offense, Moran said.
“Our pitching is not a problem,” he said. “Our defense wasn’t a problem. We had some walks early in the game that obviously hurt us, but our game strategy worked. We just need to put some runs on the board to win games.”
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