Braves handily tame Lions on the diamonds

It was cold, damp and gusty in La Conner last Saturday, a perfect day for the La Conner Braves softball and baseball teams.

The Lady Braves were especially thankful their home doubleheader with Concrete wasn't rained out as head coach Loran James' charges broke into the win column with convincing 22-13 and 21-13 triumphs.

It was a case of déjà vu.

A year ago, La Conner had also swept a pair of softball slugfests with their Skagit County rivals, winning those battles by 35-27 and 32-27 margins, numbers usually posted on football scoreboards.

It looked early last weekend like the Lady Braves (2-9 overall; 2-4 in league) wouldn't be able to snap their nine-game losing skid. Concrete erupted for 11 first inning runs in the opener of the NW2B/1B twinbill, leading one Lady Lions fan to ask whether a 10-run mercy rule would be imposed.

La Conner answered with nine runs in bottom of the first, a rally keyed by Taylor Rae Cayou's two-run double to deep left field.

The Lady Braves followed with an eight-run rally in the second and never looked back.

La Conner hurler Della Souryavong tamed the Lions, allowing just two tallies over the final four innings.

The nightcap of the doubleheader followed a similar script. La Conner again plated nine first inning runs, an outburst ignited by a one-out, two-run, line drive double to left by Katarina Edwards.

Leadoff hitter Josi Straathof sparked the victors all day, repeatedly drawing walks and creating havoc on the basepaths. She and Souryavong embraced the muddy infield conditions with textbook head-first slides. Souryavong scored that way in the first game after escaping a run-down between third base and the plate.

The La Conner baseball team improved to 7-6 overall and 4-5 in conference action by drubbing Concrete 19-1 and 15-1 on Saturday.

Braves coaches emptied their dugout in both games.

"The great thing is that everybody was able to play and do something positive," Jeremiah LeSourd told the Weekly News afterward.

Senior lefthander Logan Burks tossed a one-hitter and fanned 10 Concrete hitters in the first game.

Burks was backed by a balanced attack.

Versatile C.J. Edwards, who played catcher and three infield positions on the day, lined a double for the winners, matching teammates Charley Jackson and Brogan Masonholder.

Kenai Zimmerman contributed a pair of singles and his brother, Hadden Zimmerman, got aboard the hard way – hit by a pitch.

In Game Two, Edwards ripped a three-run inside-the-park homer to left-centerfield. Jackson added a pair of singles and Ivory Damien and Masonholder each laced safeties. Hadden Zimmerman was again hit by a pitch for the umpteenth time this season.

Damien, Masonholder and Kaleb Otis shared pitching duties in the second game, checking the Lions on a lone base hit and combining for 10 strikeouts.

The La Conner teams have a full NW2B/1B schedule this week. They hosted Friday Harbor April 30. The Braves travel to Orcas Island May 1. Coupeville comes to La Conner May 2.