Spartans softball splits Pacific League opener

By Michael Carman

Olympic Peninsula News Group

FORKS — Forks split its Pacific League softball opening doubleheader, walking off the Titans with an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh in a 5-3 win and falling 10-8 in the nitecap at Tillicum Park.

“I’m happy the girls went out and got one of the two games,” coach Traci Kratzer said. “It shows them they still have some things to key in on and fix in the field.

“Our bats were slow to begin with in both games, but we came around. We have been trying to instill the thought of ‘base hits’ for each batter and just string them together.”

Chloe Gaydeski-St. John tripled and earned the win with a complete-game performance in the opener. She also went three-quarters of the way through the second contest.

“She’s our freshman pitcher and she really did a wonderful job of pitching in that first game,” Kratzer said.

Keira Johnson tripled and held down center field defensively.

“She’s very consistent at bat, really a beast up there. And she covers a lot of ground for us in center,” Kratzer said.

Eighth-grader Fynlie Peters stepped into the starting lineup for Elizabeth Soto.

“Fyn really did a wonderful job at third base and also got a double up at bat,” Kratzer said.

Senior leaders Kyra Neel and Kadie Wood also contributed at catcher and shortstop, respectively.

“Kyra doubled for us and she’s doing a really good job behind the plate in taking control of the field and letting our younger players know the situation and what they need to do,” Kratzer said.

“And I can’t say enough good things about Kadie Wood. She’s a beast of a shortstop, she hustles on every play and she did a good job of leading the infield with two eighth-graders on either side of her in Fynlie and Bailey Johnson at second base.”

Kratzer said the squad is continuing to build its culture on and off the field.

“These girls this year are really working hard at building a winning culture, not just with games, but with their teammates. I’m proud of them,” Kratzer said.

Forks (1-1, 1-3) visits Coupeville on Saturday.