Apr. 22—PULLMAN — In two hotly contested matchups, the Clarkston Bantams and the Pullman Greyhounds split a 2A Greater Spokane League softball twinbill Tuesday at Pullman High School.
In Game 1, Clarkston won 14-10. In Game 2, Pullman was victorious 6-5.
Pullman coach Haylee Fishback gave credit to the Bantams after the doubleheader.
"Clarkson is a good team," Fishback said. "I always think that they're very, very well coached, and I'm glad that we got the win, but it really wasn't our best night."
Clarkston coach Kristin Wilson shared a similar sentiment.
"Both teams played great," Wilson said. "It came down to a battle for both games. We got one, and then they got one."
Hounds lead early, then Clarkston battles back Game 1
In Game 1, Clarkston (7-7, 6-6) was led by Izzy Schlegel with four hits, two of which were triples, and she totaled two RBI.
"Izzy Schlegel played great in the first game," Wilson said. "She played big for us today."
Kizzie Line led the Bantams with three RBI. She hit a three-run home run in the sixth inning to extend Clarkston's lead to 14-10 for the final runs of the game.
Bailey Blaydes had three hits and two RBI for the Bantams.
Taylor Cromie led Pullman (11-2, 10-2) with two hits, including a grand slam in the bottom of the second inning to boost the Hounds to a 6-1 lead. Cromie also had a double in the contest.
Fishback said that Cromie is not only an excellent player but also an excellent leader.
"She's (our) only senior that we have, and she's a stellar athlete, both defensively and offensively, and I know that we can count on her," Fishback said. "When she gets up to bat, she's going to hit the ball. She's just a great leader with the effort that she puts in."
Isabelle Dahmen added a hit and two RBI for the Greyhounds.
Pullman held a strong 10-5 lead going into the sixth inning, then the Clarkston offense exploded for a combined nine runs in the sixth and seventh innings to win the ball game.
Mackenzie Gillie started the sixth on a single to center field, followed by a walk of Abby Miller and then two passed balls that advanced Gillie to score and Miller to third base. Another walk, and then a single by Schlegel to center field scored two runs to put Clarkston within two runs at 10-8.
Gillie singled again to start the seventh, Jaelyn McCormack-Marks hit a single over the second baseman and then Miller caused an error on a ball hit to the pitcher to score Gillie and McCormack-Marks.
Addy Leonard reached on an error, which scored Miller, and then Blaydes had a single to left field. What followed was Line's home run.
Wilson said that Clarkston had to "fight (its) way back" to get into the game and that it "did it together as a team."