River Ridge pitcher Raylie Birklid made her presence felt in the circle and at the plate against Capital Monday, recording three hits and striking out nine batters in an 18-4 Hawks win at Stevens Field.
The Hawks opened the game with a seven-run first inning highlighted by a two-run double from Birklid. In the bottom of the first, Capital, which hadn’t scored a run in each of its last three games, broke the scoring spell. Lola McKeone notched a leadoff double and scored on a passed ball.
Birklid tacked on her third RBI of the game in the second inning, rewarding Jaylah Sok-Vandergriff’s triple with an RBI single. The Hawks scored three more runs on passed balls in the second to take an 11-1 lead.
With two outs in the second, Capital’s Rayli Floe picked up an RBI on a single to right field, bringing Elizabeth Sloppy home. River Ridge responded with its own two-out rally in the third, scoring four more runs. Eva Lynch’s RBI triple, one of three triples for River Ridge, capped off the frame. Lexie Dura drove in a run in the third with a single.
The Hawks tallied three more in the fifth, and Capital scored its fourth run in the fifth inning.
“We played a solid game. I think we could’ve hit the ball much better. We still have a lot of things to cover and to work on defensively and offensively,” River Ridge head coach Danny Greene said. “All in all, a win is a win. We have to enhance the good and eliminate the bad.”
Birklid finished 3 of 4 at the plate with three RBIs, three runs and a double, while Sok-Vandergriff went 3 of 4 with one RBI, four runs scored and a triple. Haleigh Camberg and Emma Liljenberg also had two hits and an RBI apiece. Birklid pitched all five frames for the Hawks, striking out nine while allowing four runs (one earned) on five hits and one walk.
“We got great pitching from Raylie Birklid. She’s really grown as a pitcher,” Greene said. “She doesn’t get frustrated when there’s a passed ball or error on the play. She’s continuing to get tougher and tougher.”
Greene also shouted out Camberg’s growth as a hitter and Lynch’s steady play at third base.
Dura also went the distance in the circle for Capital and struck out 10 batters and only walked one. She went 2 of 3 at the plate with an RBI.
River Ridge (3-3, 3-1 Puget Sound League) will host Peninsula (6-1, 4-0 Puget Sound League) Wednesday afternoon at the Regional Athletic Complex, while Capital (0-6, 0-5 Puget Sound League) will take on North Thurston (2-4, 1-3 Puget Sound League) at Stevens Field Wednesday.
