Lady Scouts’ bats come alive late in win over Tohatchi

FORT DEFIANCE

It took five innings for the Window Rock softball team to finally get its bats going.

The Lady Scouts (6-4) batted in 10 hits in the fifth and six frames and exploded for nine runs to upend the Tohatchi Lady Cougars 11-8 on Thursday afternoon at Window Rock High School.

“We do very well with base running,” Window Rock coach Karen Tom said. “Sometimes it takes us at least a couple innings for us to adjust to the pitcher. And I feel like that’s what happened. It wasn’t until the third inning to where they finally started to make the adjustments against the Cougars’ ace pitcher.

“She did really well; she was pitching some heat there,” Tom said of Tohatchi southpaw McKayla Bitsoi. “Until we made those adjustments, that’s when we were finally able to get on base.”

Before that, the Scouts’ bats had been silenced against Bitsoi, who struck out eight batters and allowed five runs (three earned) on five hits in 5.1 innings of work.

But once Bitsoi was replaced, the Scouts found some new life as Tohatchi used three different pitchers.

“I’m gonna take this loss myself for switching out our pitchers,” first-year Tohatchi coach Pete Garcia said. “I switched her out because they were starting to get her timing down. So as a coach, you want to try to change it up and throw them off.”

While trailing 7-2, the Scouts sent up nine batters in the bottom of the fifth with shortstop Jaselynn Young starting the one-out rally with a solo in-the-park home run.

Next-at-bat, right outfielder Alison Lynch knocked in a single and she scored on an RBI double from midfielder Ryleigh Owens as the Tohatchi coach opted to turn over the pitching duties to Hayden Skeets. With runners on the corners, Window Rock put across two runs on three hits to close within 7-6.

The Cougars got one of those runs back when shortstop Mya Blake nailed a grounder in left field that put leadoff hitter Memphis Johnson, who earned a walk, home.

Skeets opened the top of the sixth with a strikeout, but she hit the next batter. After a couple of RBI singles, the Scouts took the lead for good at 9-8 as Skeets was replaced by sophomore Logan Benallie, who started the game as Tohatchi’s catcher.

Benallie surrendered a two-run homer from freshman Paisley Begay for the game’s final two runs.

Early in the contest, Window Rock got on board first with Lynch scoring on a passed ball.

The Cougars, however, plated four runs in the top of the third with senior midfielder Taryn Bitsoi nailing a two-run double, which was followed by an RBI double from second baseman Devyn Harvey and a single scoring run from junior first baseman Bobbie Yazzie for a 4-1 lead.

The Scouts sliced that lead in half (4-2) in the bottom of the fourth when freshman pitcher Lyannah Thompson hit an RBI single in right field.

Tohatchi answered with a three-run rally in the top of the fifth, with Taryn Bitsoi and Harvey nailing consecutive run-scoring singles. An RBI single from Benallie capped the scoring that put Tohatchi ahead 7-2.

Tohatchi finished the contest with 12 hits on Thompson, who went the distance for Window Rock. Taryn Bitsoi led the Cougars by going 3-for-4 at the plate while Harvey and Blake added two hits each.

“We scored those runs because they were listening to the play calling,” Garcia said of their early success. “But when we tried to kill the ball, I think that is what got us.

“We were trying to put (the ball) over the fence, instead of trying to place it where the pitches were being pitched, putting where it needs to be.”

Despite coming up short, the Tohatchi coach was pleased with his team’s efforts as the Cougars dropped its first two games of the season to Hózhó Academy by scores of 17-3 and 21-4 earlier this week on Tuesday.

“We’re still a little green, but we’re improving every day,” the Tohatchi coach said. “I’m getting a lot of feedback and what we’re trying to do is enhance their skills. We weren’t doing anything spectacular and one of the reasons why we stayed close was because we stuck to the fundamentals of throwing where the ball needed to be thrown.”

As for his pitching rotation, Garcia said Bitsoi will be seeing a lot in the circle this season with Benallie serving as her backup.

“She’s my ace pitcher, and she a huge asset to have,” Garcia said of Bitsoi. “She’s one of our top leaders and she knows how to take things in control even though it’s only her second year pitching.

“I’m trying to help her place pitches and do different pitches like a changeup and a rise ball, so we’re working on those things,” he added.

The Cougars will be looking for its first win of the season by hosting Navajo Pine today in a doubleheader at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Window Rock, meanwhile, is hosting the Page Lady Devils in a doubleheader with the first varsity game at 11 a.m. in Fort Defiance. The second game is scheduled for 3 p.m. The Scouts enter today’s twin bill at 0-1 in the 3A North Region as Window Rock came up short to Chinle by a 5-4 decision on Mar. 12.

“Our goal, of course, is to win the 3A North Region,” Tom said. “I think (today’s) game will give us a good idea in where we stand in the 3A North. It will also help us see where our weaknesses are. But we have time even after the Page game. We have another three weeks, and we can make the adjustments where it’s needed.”

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