CV puts a bad performance in the past

Kacie Melton, Aryn Grause and the rest of the Crescent Valley High Raiders collected some short-term redemption Friday evening.

Melton pitched a complete game, Grause belted two triples and the Raiders won the season series with Corvallis, winning the rubber-game 7-2 to finish the Mid-Willamette Conference softball season opening series with a 2-1 advantage.

In 2007, the Spartans won the season series 2-1. Of more immediate concern, though, was the Raiders response to a disappointing 13-12 loss on Wednesday.

“Some nights you’ve got it and some nights you don’t,” Grause said after finally breaking through against CHS pitcher Laura Fleck. “That pitcher had actually had me this whole series. I was zero for this series against her coming into tonight.

“Some nights you’re on and the ball looks like a basketball and some nights, I swear it isn’t even there.”

Grause batted 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored, jump starting the CV offense in the first and sixth innings with her triples. Sammie Waite hit 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run, and Sammi Brandstetter went 2-for-4 with a run. Elizabeth Gianotti had a two-run single and Darcy Fields had an RBI double.

Melton rebounded from a walk-marred performance in Wednesday’s loss with a solid seven-hitter, working out of trouble on more than one occasion.

“I just came in looking to get the job done,” she said. “Coach was giving me a second chance.”

Twice she came up with key strike outs when the Spartans were threatening, and she threw out Fleck trying to score from third on a delayed steal to end the fifth inning.

“I think Kacey did a really good job,” Corvallis catcher Sami Keim said. “We hit her, but we didn’t get hits in order. We didn’t get the back-to-back hits to score runs.”

Only one of the Spartans’ runs was earned in the game. Hayley Appleman had an unearned run in the fourth, reaching on an error and eventually scoring on a second Raiders error.

Keim had CHS’ other run when she tripled to lead off the sixth and came home on a bad throw to third. An out later, Cassie Lasswell singled and Mallory Hummer walked as CHS threatened, but Melton struck out Kathrine Lee on three pitches and Christa Carlson flew out to center to end the inning.

“I just kind of came out more prepared, more ready to go,” Melton said.

That could have been said for all of the Raiders, who scored three runs in the first, two in the fifth and two in the sixth. They did meet one of their season-long goals: winning the series.

“We wanted to sweep, or have two of the three wins,” Grause said. “Who doesn’t want to take first in league?”

The Raiders figure if they win every series with the top teams in the MWC, they’ll have a pretty good chance of winning the title for the first time.

Crescent Valley 7, Corvallis 2

CORVALLIS 000 101 0 — 2 7 3

CRESCENT VALLEY 300 022 x — 7 10 3

Fleck and Keim. Melton and Gianotti. WP: Melton (1-1). LP: Fleck. 2B: Fields (CV). 3B: Keim (CHS), Grause 2 (CV).

Hits: Corvallis 7 (Akinsawa 3, Keim 2, Lasswell 2), Crescent Valley 10 (Grause 2, Waite 2, Brandstetter 2, Gianotti, Fields, Wickwire, Valdez).

RBIs: Corvallis 0, Crescent Valley (Waite 2, Gianotti 2, Fields, Grause).