RAINIER — Alyssa Carroll noticed her bat dip on inside pitches a few weeks ago. The Adna High School softball standout has a 33-inch bat that is more than fine with outside pitches.
So instead of staying in her slump, she borrows the bat of teammate Hadleigh Gerard, which is 32 inches.
“This makes me happy, I feel like I’m getting somewhere,” Carroll said.
One inch makes a world of difference.
Carroll capped a three-hit day with a towering solo home run, one of five players with three hits to give the Pirates an 11-5 victory over Rainier on Thursday night in a C2BL contest.
Adna (11-2, 4-0 C2BL) now prepares for a Saturday matinee, potentially for the league title, against Toledo.
First pitch is slated for 12 p.m.
“We’re always ready,” Adna head coach Bruce Pocklington said. “It is a big game. We can’t worry about our competitors.”
There was a bit of a late start for Carroll this spring, coming off a lengthy stay in Spokane for the Class 2B state basketball tournament. She found out quickly that her bat might be a struggle.
Her initial switch came versus Mossyrock and she launched a homer. Then after an 0-for-4 day versus Pe Ell/Willapa Valley, she proceeded to go 5-for-9 over the next three games.
“It was frustrating at first, but it is what it is,” Carroll said.
Gerard’s bat allowed her to break out of the rut. Including Thursday’s homer, the other two times Carroll has left the yard were off Gerard’s bat.
Whatever works.
“As long as I’m hitting and doing what my team needs me to do, I’m fine,” Carroll said.
Her other two hits were doubles, putting her with multiple hits in three of Adna’s last five contests.
“She was trying too hard for a while,” Pocklington said. “She’s got a great swing. When she stays in her good hitting position, she’s pretty good.”
More times than not, Adna has come out slow at the plate. It was baffled by Rainier starter Ryleigh Cruse’s changeup and trailed 2-1 early.
Tieander Olson tied the game with an RBI groundout after the Pirates opened with back-to-back singles. Carroll’s first double gave them the lead and Charlie Myers finished the rally with a sacrifice fly.
Then in the fourth, a five-spot put them in front 9-2. Presley Strodemier and Carroll recorded two-run hits.
“We have to have better, quality at-bats,” Pocklington said. “I think it is our pregame preparation, it has to be better.”
The Mountaineers (4-7, 2-2) didn’t wilt away.
They put up two runs in the bottom of the fourth and an Elly Henry solo home run in the sixth ended the offensive output. Gracie Lantz recorded an RBI groundout in the first and Mia Naval roped a run-scoring double in the second.
“We’re really proud of the way the girls hung around and they knew they could,” Rainier head coach Katie Qualls said. “You want to take care of our pitchers and we need to work on supporting our pitchers.”
Still, there were some miscues. The urgency to get the ball back into the infield was lacking at times and at the plate, they struck out nine times.
“We could have done better, we could always do better,” Qualls said. “You have to make the adjustment.”
Naval, Henry and Layla Hill all recorded two hits for Rainier, which battled Onalaska on Friday before closing the league slate with Mossyrock and Napavine.
“We know the ones we have to get,” Qualls said. “I do think if we can time this just right, this group is district-bound.”
Gerard, Strodemier, Teagan Baggenstos and Lena McCloskey plus Kimber Huber all recorded multiple hits for the Pirates. Myers worked around nine hits to earn the victory in the circle.
“I thought she got stronger as time went on,” Pocklington said of Myers.
The Pirates lost to the Riverhawks in the non-league 9-0. Adna was limited to three hits and committed four errors plus only drew one walk.
In what could be a 2B District 4 championship preview, Carroll believes this group is ready for the rematch.
“A lot of us are wanting to get out there, get what we need to get done and get out,” she said.
