Barlow softball beat its crosstown rivals at their own game, with booming bats and a pair of deep home runs from a sophomore duo.
The Bruins were on the road at Gresham — on a brand new turf field the Gophers debuted midway through the season — holding onto a narrow lead. Then in the 4th inning the visitors offense came alive.
First sophomore Sahdaya Nelson smashed one over the middle fence to score a single-shot homer. Then, one batter later, sophomore Pehtyn Hart knocked one into the yard herself, also scoring junior Evie West.
“Seeing (Sahdaya’s) home run it pumped me up a lot, because I feel like I have to do something for my teammates in return,” Hart said.
“(The home run) felt amazing right off the barrel,” she added. “Everybody cheering for me, it felt good.”
That would snowball into a six-run inning that Gresham could never match. No. 15 Barlow cruised to a 10-1 win over No. 18 Gresham Monday afternoon, April 29, in a Mt. Hood Conference bout.
“That is how you win games,” Barlow Coach Rob Gehrke said. “We put our mark on this one.”
The win makes it six-in-a-row for the Bruins (13-7, 6-1 League), who are hitting their stride at the perfect moment.
“Our batting has been really solid during this run,” Coach Gehrke said, citing his team averaging just under 15 runs a game during the streak.
It wasn’t just the highlight reel homers. Hart opened the scoring with an inside-the-park home run in the 1st inning; in the 2nd inning senior Lisa Shaw hit a triple, and then was scored by a Nelson double; and in that big 4th inning junior Charlie Renner, Shaw and sophomore Katrina Jordaine hit three-straight doubles, each scoring a runner.
“We kept the bats going, we have been doing that all season,” Hart said. “Started it off early today.”
Meanwhile in the circle it was the pitching duo of starter Charlie Renner and closer Britney Henderson who kept the Gophers at bay.
“Chuck did so good, and Britney came in and shut them all out,” Hart said.
Gresham (10-10, 4-3 League) twice had threatening moments, both centered on star sophomore hitter Maddy Sagapolutele, who leads the state in home runs. She scored the lone Gresham run in response to Barlow’s booming 4th inning. Sagapolutele got on base with a double, and then was brought home by senior Kendall Gardenhire’s single.
Then in the 5th inning Sagapolutele stepped up to the plate with runners on second and third, with two outs. The Bruins had just made the pitching change to senior Henderson, meaning it was a cold arm against the talented Gresham batter. But the Barlow ace won the battle, tossing three-straight strikes that had Sagapolutele swinging at air to escape the inning unscathed.
Henderson struck out five more Gresham hitters in the final two innings to secure the win.
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