After shaking off some of the early-season rust, the Douglas softball team managed to settle into a rhythm and claim a win and a tie at last weekend's Tokay Invitational in Stockton, Calif.
"I think the team looked good considering we haven't had many outdoor practices so far or seen much live pitching," Douglas assistant coach Kari Begovich-Wigton said. "All in all, they did pretty darn well. We were pleased with what they showed us."
Douglas struggled out of the gate with a 13-1 loss to Rocklin, Calif., Thursday. The Lady Tigers managed just two hits in the game, one from Morgan Barone and a double from Skylar Zulian. Zulian advanced to third on a sacrifice and scored on an error.
"We're coming off the long winter and for a lot of the girls it was a completely new
experience, seeing varsity pitching for the first time," Begovich-Wigton said. "Obviously that first game we were struggling a little bit to catch up to the pitching, but as the weekend went on we figured it out."
Mitzi Olsen took the loss, but struck out four in five innings of work.
The Tigers rebounded the next day with a 9-8 win over Stagg. Freshman Stephanie Harper, making her career debut, struck out two and picked up the win.
Dana Pardee went 2-for-2 with two stolen bases and two runs scored. Sophomore Lauren Hoppe hit a monster home run and drove in two runs and Jolie Kizer doubled and drove in two.
Donna Judd picked up her first career hit and drove in two runs, Zulian and Tisha Luken each drove in a run and Olsen added her first hit of the season.
Olsen struck out six and walked none in a three-hit gem against Bear Creek, but the Tigers couldn't hold on for the win, allowing a late run and settling for a 1-1 tie.
Hoppe went 2-for-2 in the game and Barone added another hit and an RBI. Douglas stole four bases in the game, two from Hoppe, one from Barone and one from Harper.
The Tigers closed the tournament with an 8-0 loss to Tracy, Calif. Hoppe and Barone had the only hits for Douglas.
Douglas opens league play Thursday with a 3:30 p.m. game at home against rival Carson.
-- Joey Crandall can be reached at jcrandall@recordcourier.com or at (775) 782-5121, ext. 212.
