PENDLETON — St. Helens broke open a close game with four runs in the sixth inning to beat Pendleton 12-5 on Thursday in a nonleague game between top 10 teams at Steve Cary Field.
“I thought we did a lot of good things early in the game,” Pendleton coach Tim Cary said. “We had big home runs by Kelsi (Primus) and Shaylor (Fisher), but we made too many mistakes on defense and gave up too many easy runs.”
The No. 4 Lions (15-5) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning as No. 2 hitter Dakota Drake hit a home run over the center field fence. The third run scored on an error by Pendleton catcher Brianna Medrano.
The ninth-ranked Bucks (12-7) got two runs back in the bottom of the second on a two-run home run to left field by Fisher.
St. Helens extended its lead to 7-2 in the third as three runs scored on errors and another crossed the plate on a single by Bristol Beehler.
Not to be outdone, Pendleton hung three runs on the board in the bottom of the third to pull within 7-5.
Primus hit a two-run home run to make it 7-4, and Tatum Lambert sent a runner across home plate with an infield single.
The Lions scored one run in the fifth, then exploded for four more in the sixth to stretch their lead to 12-5.
In the sixth, St. Helens had back-to-back home runs by Maddie Hancock and Halli Heys. Hancock hit a three-run shot, while Heys hit a solo shot to center field.
Avery Quaempts went 1-for-3 with a double for the Bucks. Fisher took the loss, allowing 12 runs on 14 hits while striking out one and walking one.
“Shaylor is young, but she’s doing a good job for us,” Cary said. “She will be a force the next two years.”
Eme Curaming earned the win for the Lions, giving up five runs on six hits with 12 strikeouts and zero walks.
“We need to hit the ball and play defense better,” Cary said. “That is our downfall right now. We haven’t given up this many runs in two years combined. We are working hard, staying positive and are working to get better. That’s the way it is this year. We have some experienced players, but some who don’t have a lot of varsity experience and it shows a little bit.”
The Bucks are back on the field Tuesday at Weston-McEwen.
