In the first World Series game ever played by a team from Windermere, the 11/12 softball team took an early lead and never looked back. The girls scored three runs in the first, three in the second, and cruised to a 9-0 win against the host team, Oregon District 4 champions.
Windermere batted first at Alpenrose Stadium in Portland. After Amanda Plasencia grounded out to third, Oregon pitcher Cierra Speck walked Lauren Mathis on four straight pitches. Maggie Wheless singled, putting runners on first and second. Shortstop Maria Pagane popped out to first, bringing Lexie Blair to the plate with two on and two out. She took one pitch for a ball, and then drove the next one to the outfield for a double, scoring two runs.
With Marissa Sidwell up, Blair stole third and came in to score for a 3-0 lead when the Oregon catcher threw the ball away. Sidwell singled, but the inning ended with Brianne Guldin grounding to shortstop. Lauren Mathis, pitching for Windermere, struck out the side in the bottom of the first, although one Oregon batter singled and advanced to third on steals.
Windermere had another two out rally in the top of the second. Amanda Fleming led off and was hit by a pitch. Hannah Cain grounded to short but Oregon could only get the force at second as Cain took first. Amanda Plasencia hit a roller to short and took first as Oregon erased Cain at second. Pitcher Mathis singled, putting Plasencia on second. Catcher Maggie Wheless stepped to the plate. She took a strike, then a ball, and fouled off two pitches. Then she slugged the ball deep for a triple, driving in Mathis and Plasencia. Wheless scored on a single by shortstop Pagane, and Windermere led 6-0 going into the bottom of the second.
Mathis set the Oregon side down in order in the bottom of the second, with three strikeouts. Windermere added another run in the top of the third when Amanda Fleming singled, stole second, and came home on a single from Amanda Plasencia.
Maria Pagane replaced Mathis as pitcher in the bottom of the third, in order to preserve her eligibility to pitch in the next game. Pagane walked the first two batters. They moved to second and third on a passed ball. Manager Wes Mathis brought Lexie Blair in to pitch with Oregon runners on second and third. Blair got the first batter to pop up, and the next two on infield groundouts to keep Oregon off the scoreboard.
Windermere added two more in the top of the fourth on singles by Wheless, Pagane, Sidwell, and Guldin. The inning ended when Guldin was thrown out stealing. That would be all the scoring for Windermere. Blair and the defense shut out Oregon the rest of the way. Blair’s four innings pitched means that she’s not available to pitch the next game. Windermere plays Saturday, 8/11, against Latin America, at 1:00 PM Portland time, 4:00 PM Eastern.
