Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Reardan pitcher A.J. Sosky fires a pitch April 27. Sosky pitched 11 shutout innings and struck out 17 batters between two games in the Indians' doubleheader sweep over Davenport.
REARDAN-What do you call a girl who throws a no-hitter, tosses 11 shutout innings, strikes out 17 batters and drives in seven runs in a doubleheader? The Reardan Indians' answer to that question was pitcher A.J. Sosky Tuesday, April 28. The righty dominated the Davenport Gorillas, helping the Indians to a doubleheader sweep by scores of 11-0 and 13-3.
Sosky's no-hitter came in the first game, which Reardan took control of early with six first inning runs. Sosky struck out 10 batters and allowed just two base runners, both on walks.
"What was working for me (on the mound) was mainly my drop ball," Sosky said. "My changeup also got a few girls, and my fastball was doing pretty good too."
After Sosky shut down Davenport in the top of the fifth inning, the game was called.
In the batter's box, she went 3-for-3, scored three runs and drove in four runs. Two came on a two-run inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the fourth inning, which extended Reardan's lead to 11-0.
"I saw the girl wasn't going for (the ball), and so I just took off," Sosky said. "My coach didn't want me to, but sometimes you just have to make an in-the-moment decision."
Center fielder Samantha Storms added two hits and three runs batted in for Reardan in the first game.
Third baseman Erika Preuschoff, who scored two runs of her own in the first game, started on the mound in the second game. She struggled with command, allowing two hits, walking three batters and hitting one batter, allowing Davenport to take a 3-0 lead before an out was recorded.
Reardan head coach John Higgins quickly switched back to Sosky on the mound, who dusted off the next three Davenport batters without further damage. The Indians then scored five runs in the bottom of the first and three runs in the bottom of the second to take control.
Sosky pitched six shutout innings in the second game, allowing three hits, walking three batters and recording seven strikeouts. From the plate, she recorded two triples, scored twice and drove in three runs. Preuschoff was efficient in the batter's box, nabbing three hits in four at-bats and scoring twice.
Shortstop Cora Mattern, first baseman Colleen Ellis, left fielder Darby McLaughlin and center fielder Vaea LaMoureaux all had multiple hits in the second game for Reardan, who won in six innings after extending its lead to 13-3 in the bottom of the sixth.
Reardan improved to 4-2 with the win and will look to continue its momentum Saturday, May 1, when the Chewelah Cougars come to town.
"I hope this boosts our self-esteem and gets us ready for next year," Sosky said.
Davenport fell to 0-4 and will try to enter the winner's circle for the first time this season at Kettle Falls Thursday, March 29.
"These are only our third and fourth games, so we don't have much experience this year yet," Davenport head coach Elesha Johnston said. "We're getting better as we go."
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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