Tuesday was a good day for Prairie softball senior Rylee Wall.
Like a lot of pitchers who know they’re starting on a particular afternoon, Wall is constantly thinking about how she’s feeling mentally and physically as the hours tick down to game time.
“The whole day,” she said.
Going into Tuesday’s matchup against 3A Greater St. Helens League foe Heritage and a showdown with sophomore pitcher Jaila Ellis, Wall was ready to go. The right-handed pitcher tossed all seven innings of a 3-1 win over Heritage with 13 strikeouts, one walk and three hits. The Falcons moved into sole possession of first place in the 3A GSHL.
“Overall, I just felt really good, I felt very loose,” Wall said. “Cleared my head, just went on to the mound and threw.”
“Rylee was hitting her spots, she was attacking batters, she was lights out. She did awesome,” Prairie coach Robyn Mask added.
As the Falcons attempt to chase down a third consecutive 3A GSHL title, which players agree is an important goal to achieve, they’ve added a new face to the mix in Mask, a first-year head coach and Prairie High alumna who took over for Mariah Dawson this season.
Mask brings a winning pedigree to a program she once played in, having won a Class 4A state championship with the Falcons in 2006. This year, the Falcons are trying to take the next step by returning to the state tournament with a core group of players who grew up in the sport together.
“I am well aware that Prairie has won a lot of years,” Mask said. “They’re a winning program. When I was here we won a lot, and I was just trying to keep that going for the kids. Constant support for them so we can keep winning some games.”
Prairie has been prone to starting slow in recent seasons, and this year, the team dropped eight of its first 11 games, including matchups against 4A GSHL juggernauts Skyview, Union and Battle Ground. But those results didn’t deter the Falcons to begin league play with three straight wins over Mountain View, Kelso, and most recently, Heritage.
One common thread over the past three games is the Falcons’ energy, which can be heard from their dugout and around the field.
“We’ve been working on that a lot over the past week, trying to keep the energy up and not letting errors and things get us down,” Wall said.
“(We’re) trying to get hyped for league and get on a movement,” Prairie junior Kayla Scholl said.
In addition to Wall’s wire-to-wire performance in the circle, Prairie provided run support with a Payton Blunt RBI, followed by back-to-back RBI from Scholl and Mackenzie Moore in the first three innings. Scholl and Moore each went 2-for-3 with an RBI at the top of the Falcons’ batting order.
According to Mask, the Falcons’ focus for the day was putting the ball in play early and making the Timberwolves’ defense work. The message certainly got through to players.
“(We’re) just really focusing on what you want to hit,” Scholl said. “Just seeing contact, contact, contact — it’s not like big hits or anything — just getting on the ball early.”
