Lady Braves 'Tripp' up Darrington

The La Conner softball team hosted rather than visited league rival Darrington last week, but the day was marked by a splendid Tripp nonetheless.

As in Lady Braves pitcher Elizabeth Tripp, who scattered seven hits en route to a tidy 6-5 NW2B triumph for the youthful La Conner club.

Tripp was backed by a potent La Conner attack led by third baseman Chloe Fullington, who was two-for-two at the plate with a triple, one run scored, and an RBI.

Fullington also made her presence felt on defense. She recorded three putouts and the same number of assists.

Tripp, meanwhile, helped her cause with a pair of safeties, one of which produced a tally for the victors.

Riley Banaszak also delivered a base hit, while second baseman Sarah McCormack continued her superb all-around play of late.

“Sarah did a great job,” La Conner head coach Peg Seeling said of McCormack’s glove work. “She had eight putouts and six assists for us.”

That’s not all.

McCormack worked Darrington pitching for a walk, stole two bases, and scored a run.

With the win, La Conner was 4-7 overall and 2-2 in conference action going into this week’s hefty slate.

“It was one of the best played games we’ve had this season,” Seeling said of the one-run, comeback verdict over the Lady Loggers. “We got down early but battled back to hang on for the win.”

The Lady Braves battled hard but came up on the short end of a Friday home twinbill with Friday Harbor, the front end of which counts in league standings.

The league-leading Lady Wolverines took that contest by an 8-5 margin. They also prevailed 12-2 in the non-conference nightcap.

La Conner hit on equal terms with Friday Harbor, matching the visitors with 11 hits. But the Lady Braves hurt themselves with some ill-timed defensive miscues.

“We had the same number of hits as they did,” Seeling said afterward, “but we still need to clean up our errors to have a legitimate shot at post-season success.”

Those errors spoiled a nice outing by La Conner hurler Kahneesha Casey, who fanned five and didn’t walk a batter in seven innings of work.

Fullington, McCormack, Banaszak, Jayna Whited, and Lexi Bobb enjoyed multiple-hit days for La Conner.

One of Whited’s three base knocks was a triple. Fullington also had an extra-base hit, blasting a double.

The Lady Braves got off to a bad start in the second game, committing four straight errors in the first frame.

“We really struggled to get into it,” said Seeling. “Liz (Tripp) only gave up six hits and struck out four, but our eight errors killed us.”

On a positive note, Tripp, McCormack, Bobb, and Casey all lined hits, with Casey’s going for two bases.

La Conner was slated for a key NW2B rematch with Friday Harbor on Tuesday, a day after a non-league road test at Meridian.

The Lady Braves host Orcas Island today (Wednesday) before closing out a busy week by entertaining Bellingham on Saturday.