Some timely hitting and sharp pitching from Annie Collins helped Shorecrest complete a season sweep of rival Shorewood, Tuesday, April 22.
The Scots took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a two-run single by Collins and never looked back, cruising to a 7-1 win at Shorewood High School.
“I think the whole team (came) out with confidence, it kind of throws you off, you can tell who came here to play,” Collins said.
Courtnee Bryant started things off with a slap single down the third base line and Caroline Towles followed with a double to right. Collins singled to drive in Bryant and Towles before Shorewood’s Olivia Jacobs recorded an out.
Shorecrest added a run in the third, a run in the fourth, two runs on a two-run home run to center by Alanna Schade in the fifth and a run in the sixth. Two runners that reached on Shorewood errors ended up scoring. Shorecrest improved to 4-5 in the Western Conference South Division.
“We’re so motivated against our rivals,” Schade said. “I wish we could bring it over to other games.”
Collins went 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI, while Schade went 1-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI.
In the Scots’ 7-6 win March 20, Schade went 3-for-4 with three RBI against the T-birds.
“I tip my hat to the Schade girl, she kills us every time we play her,” Shorewood coach Tom Rizzuto said. “Against us she just has career days.”
Collins threw a complete seven-inning game and gave up five hits, one run, walked one and struck out two. Sixteen of the 21 Shorewood outs came on pop-ups, fly balls or line outs.
“That’s so nice, the fact that the ball’s just up there and you have so much time to get it,” said Schade, the shortstop.
The pop-ups left Rizzuto frustrated.
“I kept telling the girls you got to get your hands up and swing down through the ball and they go up there and they keep swinging up at the ball, popping it up,” he said. “It’s just aggravating when that happens.”
Collins struggled in the first meeting, walking 11 despite getting the win. Collins true position is shortstop but she’s been pressed into pitching duty this year because Shorecrest doesn’t have a true pitcher.
“She’s locating really well right now. I think because we played them in the beginning of the season she hadn’t really quite hit her niche yet,” Shorecrest coach Janessa Karstens said. “She’s really zoned in right now. She’s got pretty good movement right now, she’s got people chasing some stuff and it’s helping her get some outs that are not hard-hit outs.”
With seven freshman on the roster, the Scots had a lot of new faces to add to the mix, but Collins said they are starting to jell.
“I definitely feel we’re going to do a lot better the second half of the season,” she said. “We’re more comfortable with each other…I already knew that from the beginning that we were eventually going to come together. We’re just starting to do it now.”
Shorewood, which lost to eighth-place Mariner in its last game, is 5-5 and fourth among 4A teams in the Western Conference South Division. The top four 4A teams go to districts. Shorewood is a half-game behind Kamiak and a game ahead of Edmonds-Woodway in the playoff chase. Jackson (9-0) is in first place and Mountlake Terrace (7-1) is in second.
“You need these so when you play the Jacksons and the Terraces so it’s not such a huge game,” Rizzuto said. “We got Kamiak once, we got Edmonds-Woodway once, now we get to play them again, so we’re going to have to beat them both times not only to give us a win in the win column but to give them a loss in the loss column.”
Jacobs had the T-birds’ best hit ball of the day, a deep shot to center in the second with two runners on, but Shorecrest center fielder Elisabeth Hoffman made the catch at the fence.
“I think as soon as our hitting comes everything will be OK,” Jacobs said.
Jacobs took the loss against the Scots for the second time.
“I think I struggled a bit today, I missed a lot of my pitches and they just took advantage of them and that’s how they won,” she said.
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