Coming into Tuesday's doubleheader between the Douglas and South Tahoe softball teams, both coaches were essentially looking for the same thing.
They want their teams to turn it up another notch.
Douglas pulled off the sweep, topping the Vikings 10-2 and 9-7, but Tiger coach Andy Mitchell was left hoping for better execution on the basepaths.
"The main thing we've been working on is just having more confidence at the plate," he said. "We try to slap a lot to get the ball in play, and we did some of that today but we still had too many balls in the air.
"We hit the ball well, but we left 10 runners on base in the second game. We have to execute better and we just have to step it up these last few weeks of the season."
South Tahoe coach Joann Allister, on the other hand, was pleased with the way her team bounced back after collecting just four hits in the opener.
"We talked between games about needing to elevate our game," she said. "(Heading into the second game) I had the girls move up in the box and told them to be more aggressive."
As a result, the Vikings put together an early 6-0 lead after punching out five hits in the first inning.
"It worked out pretty well," Allister said.
Douglas quickly came back, getting a two-run home run from center fielder Lauren Hoppe with one out in the bottom half of the first.
Later in the inning, the Tigers managed to load the bases with two outs on two singles and an error.
Chloe Trudell then slapped a two-run double and Mackenzie Cauley followed with an additional two-run double to tie the score and Emily Weaver singled to bring Cauley around for the 7-6 lead.
"We definitely dug ourselves a hole in the top of the first, but we battled back," Mitchell said.
Douglas brought one more run across in the bottom of the second as Stephanie Harper singled to bring Tisha Luken around.
South Tahoe shut Douglas down for the next three innings, and brought a run across when Shay McLaughlin drew a walk and came around to score on a Sierra Jett single to bing the Vikings within one.
"It was an excellent game," Allister said. "The kids worked hard.
"We have some kids that tough it out and they get knocked down and they pick themselves back up. Those are the kids I want playing out there - the kids that are going to battle every single pitch. We showed that today."
Douglas brought an insurance run across in the bottom of the sixth as Marina Diaz singled to center to score Katrina Morgan.
Harper (17-5) took the win in the circle, striking out four and walking three while giving up just two hits after the first inning.
Trudell, Hoppe and Cauley tied for the team lead in RBI with two apiece, while each player in the Tigers' lineup had at least one hit.
Danielle Lowe led the Vikings at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one RBI. Sierra Jett led the team with two RBI while Brittany Barcello, Kelly Bartlett, Janelle Contaxis, and McLaughlin each drove in one.
In game one, the Vikings took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first with three hits.
Harper clamped down and allowed just one more hit over the next five innings, striking out two and walking two along the way to pick up the win.
Harper had three RBI and Luken drove in two as both players and Hoppe managed a double in the game.
Weaver and Luken each had three hits.
-- Joey Crandall can be reached at jcrandall@recordcourier.com or at (775) 782-5121, ext. 212.
