Quilcene sinks Vikings in varsity fastpitch softball

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The Rangers rounded out the first week of the young softball season with a welcome win over Orcas Island on Saturday.

Quilcene eclipsed the Vikings 13-3. The win followed an opening season 14-0 loss on the road at North Kitsap, and a home matchup Thursday against Darrington where the Loggers rolled to a close 18-17 victory.

The Rangers never trailed in Saturday’s game against Orcas Island.

“Charlotte Faye, our eighth-grade pitcher, just pitched a really good game,” said Quilcene Coach Mark Thompson. “And after a slow start with the hitting, our batters came around.”

“Defensively, we were much better than the game before,” he added. “Just all  in all, a better game,” Thompson added.

Jayden Talley smacked a solo home run in the 13-3 win.

Abby Ward added two hits and two RBIs. Ashley Jones added two more hits for the Ranger win, and Sierra Graunke smacked a two-RBI single. 

Thompson said Quilcene had a balanced offense in the game.

“Everybody but our nine hitter got a hit or two hits, all the way through the lineup,” he said.

The Vikings scored their three runs in the last inning, capitalizing on walked batters.

“That’s one area where we’re going to have to improve a little bit, our strike-to-ball ratio,” Thompson said.

In the previous game against Darrington, Quilcene’s defense let the Loggers back into the game after the Rangers were in the lead.

“We walked eight batters,” the coach said. 

That included three in a row. Errors also stymied the Rangers.

“We just didn’t play good enough defense to win,” Thompson explained. “We need to help our pitchers by playing better defense.”