The Forest Grove softball team has been on a run, and that run continued when the Vikings defeated Glencoe 5-4 on Thursday night, May 2, at Forest Grove High School.
The Vikes got three runs in the fifth inning to break a 2-2 tie, then held on as the visiting Crimson Tide rallied late to earn their fifth consecutive win and pull within a game of first place in the Pacific Conference standings.
Senior centerfielder Katelyn Petersen who went 2-for-4 with a run-scored in the game, said she attributed much of the team’s turnaround to a better overall attitude, which in turn has manifested itself both at the plate and in the field.
“I think our energy is way better,” Petersen said. “We’re supporting each other, behind each other, and our bats got going. It’s contagious.”
Forest Grove head coach Jeremy Ingram agreed with his standout player, speaking to the work they’ve done in that specific area throughout the season.
“They’re starting to buy-in and believe, and we’re coming together,” Ingram said. “Our energy and communication has been better, which we’ve been working on all year, and it’s starting to get us there.”
Entering the week, the Vikes were a game back of Sherwood, Newberg, McMinnville and Glencoe in the loss column, but with wins over the Grizzlies and Tide since, they’ve pulled within a game of the first place Bowmen and Tigers, with a game with the former scheduled for Friday night, May 3.
Ingram said he spoke about that with his team prior to this week’s action, emphasizing to them what a series of wins could do for their chances both in the league and beyond going forward.
“Absolutely, we talked about it,” Ingram said. “We talked about yesterday’s game, talked about today’s game, and have been talking about this week. It’s a big week for us with Mac, Glencoe and Sherwood, so we’ve been talking about how we can put ourselves in a really good position if we have a good week.”
Forest Grove got the scoring started in the first inning when following a Petersen double to lead off the game, Kailea Takahashi singled to centerfield to make it 1-0.
The Vikings made it 2-0 in the third inning on a Megan Hall RBI-single, then watched the Tide tie the game 2-2 when sophomore shortstop Makena Petrick homered to centerfield following a Bailey Farrimond two-out base hit.
The hits were the first two of the game for Glencoe who had been mostly stymied by freshman pitcher Kherington Wright to that point. Petersen said she was and has been impressed by Wright since she’s further worked her way into the lineup over the past couple of weeks.
“She’s amazing,” Petersen said. “I love how she stays locked in and doesn’t let anything get to her. There was that home run, but she just shook it off and got right back into it.”
As did the rest of the Forest Grove who regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth when the Vikes plated three as the result of a Jacquelin Lang RBI single, followed by an Adyson Lawson two-run double to make it 5-2.
Glencoe fought back to get two runs in the sixth inning to pull within one, and put two runners on base with one out in the seventh. But Wright buckled down when it mattered most, getting consecutive pop-outs to end the game and secure a very big Vikings win.
“This is big,” Ingram said. “It puts us in good position in the league.”
Forest Grove’s winning streak comes on the heels of four straight losses, three of which were in conference. Ingram said things—quite obviously—have since come around, and credits much of that turnaround to the confidence that comes with winning, along with hard work.
“We beat a couple good teams down on our spring break tournament which kind of catapulted us after a rough start to league,” Ingram said. “But we’ve turned it around since then, had a few good practices where we worked really hard on our communication and our body language, and that’s showing on the field. I feel like with this squad, we’re capable of playing with anybody, anywhere.”
It also can’t be ignored that he and the team are benefiting from the addition of Wright who started the year on the junior varsity. Ingram said he hasn’t been shocked by the freshman’s contribution, but has been pleasantly surprised by the level of it since joining the varsity team.
“She’s stepping up big for us and has provided a good spark for us,” Ingram said. “I knew she was going to be able to contribute at some point, but I wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to contribute like she is now.”
In addition to Petersen, Takahashi, Lawson and Cali Davis all finished with two hits for Forest Grove, and in all, the Vikings outhit the Tide 11-4.
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