Union slugger Mo Spieth said she had never been a part of such a game at this level.
Skyview’s Bri Vire said she and her teammates were talking about the over/under for the game in the second inning. The Storm put that number at 30.
Take the over.
Union rallied from five runs down, then four runs down, then three runs down and got past Skyview 16-15 in a wild Class 4A Greater St. Helens League softball game Monday afternoon and into the evening.
It took 90 minutes to complete the first three innings.
“That was a completely unique experience for me,” said Spieth, who had three hits, including a two-run home run. “I don’t think I’ll see one like it again.”
“It was intense,” said Vire, who had two triples for the Storm and drove in three runs. “I was nervous out there.”
Skyview scored its 15 runs in the first three innings and then, seemingly out of nowhere, pitching happened. And defense happened. And Union happened to rally again to get the win.
Alexis Kron, Union’s third pitcher of the game, threw four scoreless innings to pick up the win. She credited Spieth, the Union catcher, for her performance.
“I would be thinking of a pitch in my head, and Mo would put it down,” Kron said, referring to the sign given to her from Spieth.
They were in synch.
“It helps that we’re besties,” Spieth said.
Yes, there was defense, too. Union center fielder Aisha Ensley made a diving catch for the second out of the final inning, preventing Skyview from getting the tying run on base.
Still, this game was all about the scoreboard.
Skyview sent nine to the plate in the top of the first and scored five runs. Vire’s two-run triple was the big hit of the frame.
Union responded, sending 10 to the plate in the bottom of the first and tied it at five. The first seven batters reached base safely.
Skyview got four in the top of the second. Miah Anthony had a two-run single, one of her four hits and four RBIs on the day.
No problem for Union. Spieth hit a two-run bomb in a seven-run bottom of the second as the Titans took a 12-9 lead.
Skyview’s turn! Five hits and a couple errors led to six runs in the third.
A two-run single from Union’s Malayeh Burns made it 15-14 after three innings. Union would tie it in the fourth on an unearned run, then took the lead for good in the fifth on Ensley’s run-scoring single.
Kron and Spieth said that in the past, perhaps the Titans would have been down after giving up five runs in the top of the first. Not anymore.
“We know we can score,” Kron said.
“You just have to stay positive,” Spieth said.
As for Skyview, the bats came alive after struggling last week against first-place Camas.
“I always knew we had it in us,” Vire said.
