Cleveland High School softball (7-8, 5-2 PIL) made quick work of Lincoln (1-13, 0-7 PIL) on Tuesday, April 16 at Hamilton Park.
After a scoreless first inning, the visiting Warriors exploded for seven runs in the second frame to deliver what was ultimately the knockout blow.
Simone Ranta broke open the scoring with a bases-loaded single that snuck between third and shortstop, allowing two runs to score.
Mei Mei Boghossian followed that up with a double to left-center field, bringing home another couple of runs to make it 4-0 Warriors.
Following a groundout, sophomore Kailen Steffek came to the plate next and launched her sixth home run of the season, this one to center field, bringing home two more runs.
Sara Cass knocked a double and later scored on an error to bring the damage to 7-0 heading to the bottom of the second.
In the circle, Steffek was dominating as well by not allowing a hit in the first two frames, preserving the 7-0 lead.
Cleveland piled on more in the top of the third inning, starting with a single from Cass with the bases loaded that brought home two runs.
Jillian Lee followed that up with a single to left field, scoring another run. Two more came across home plate following an error off the bat of Annabel Sahler.
Lincoln got runners to second and third with two outs in the bottom half of the third, but struck out to miss out on the opportunity.
Steffek continued to pitch well and the Warriors added another run in the fifth on a single from Briget Valley, pushing the lead to 13-0.
Steffek struck out the first two batters of the fifth, but the Cardinals loaded the bases and had Darby Drozdenko at the plate. Steffek got Drozdenko to groundout to the circle though to end the game in five innings.
Steffek finished 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs and the home run, and also chipped in five innings pitched with two hits allowed, nine strikeouts and two walks.
Cleveland moves into a tie for second place with Ida B. Wells in the PIL with the win, .5 game back of McDaniel in first.
The Warriors will play Franklin next at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Woodstock Park while Lincoln hosts Roosevelt at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Hamilton Park.
More from the diamond
Gracie Huston continues to dominate for Central Catholic (12-2, 3-0 Mt. Hood) softball, this time hitting a home run against Gresham and throwing seven strong innings from the circle in the Rams’ 8-3 win on the road against the Gophers.
Huston went 2-for-3 from the plate with four RBIs and the home run, plus she picked up 14 strikeouts and gave up three unearned runs in the win.
Wells (5-8, 5-2 PIL) took down visiting Franklin (6-7, 4-2 PIL) 5-2 thanks to four-run sixth inning. Trailing 2-1 going into the frame, the bottom of the Guardians lineup came up big with a couple of bases-loaded walks, a single and a steal of home.
Keira Thomas went 3-for-4 from the plate with one RBI while Samantha Stevens pitched seven strong innings, giving up nine hits, two earned runs with three strikeouts and no walks.
McDaniel (8-5, 5-1 PIL) continues to lead the PIL with a 10-0 win over Grant (3-10, 2-5 PIL). However, it was 1-0 for five innings before the Mountain Lion exploded for nine runs in the final two frames.
Anna Gladwin was the catalyst at the top of the lineup, going 3-for-4 from the plate with three RBIs. Isabel Hale dominated in the circle, pitching seven innings and giving up only two hits with nine strikeouts and one walk.
Switching to baseball, Lincoln (6-7, 4-0 PIL) and Grant (9-4, 4-3 PIL) started their series with a bang. The Cardinals were able to take home a 3-2 win in nine innings out at Hillsboro Stadium. All five runs came in extra innings as the game was tied at zero after seven.
Down 2-1 going to the bottom of the ninth, Garrett Schmokel was the hero, coming up with a double in the bottom of the ninth to score Cody Dickinson from third and Isaac Margolis from second.
Alex Dexter was great on the mound, pitching seven innings and giving up only one hit and no runs with 10 strikeouts and three walks. Kaeden Cruse was nearly as dominate, pitching six innings with only three hits given up, no runs allowed with seven strikeouts and four walks.
McDaniel (5-7, 4-3 PIL) moved into a tie for third in the PIL with a romp of Cleveland (6-8, 3-4 PIL). The Mountain Lions had 12 hits in a 12-2 win over the Warriors.
Jackson DeYoung was the standout, going 4-for-4 from the plate with four RBIs. Paul Oellrich pitched all five innings, giving up the two earned runs on three hits.
Franklin (2-9, 1-6 PIL) picked up its first league win of the season with an 11-6 victory against Roosevelt (2-10, 0-4 PIL).
Ryan Ghazi’s strong season continued with a 2-for-4 day that drove home two runs. Devyn Dickey also went 2-for-4 with two RBIs to help the Lightning break their losing streak. Andrew Metz gave up three hits and six unearned runs with five strikeouts from the mound in six innings.
Last but certainly not least, Central Catholic (7-6, 1-3 Mt. Hood) finally got on the Mt. Hood Conference board with a 1-0 win in 10 innings at Sandy, handing the Pioneers their first league loss.
Langston Kaptur was the hero, coming up with a bases-loaded single in the top of the 10th to put his squad up. Lance McKey closed the game out with three strikeouts in the bottom half of the frame after the first batter reached on an error.
Spencer Marron pitched out of his mind though, going 8.1 innings for the Rams with only two hits given up, no runs and picking up seven strikeouts with three walks.
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