High school softball: First inning scoring outburst fuels Lone Peak rout over Brighton

HIGHLAND — Confidence was in full supply for Lone Peak for several reasons after it notched an 11-0 victory over Region 4 foe Brighton on Thursday afternoon.

First, the Knights took charge in the first inning with their bats and never looked back. Second, they had a fantastic defensive showing in the field. Not only did they not make any errors in the contest, Lone Peak players took turns making spectacular defensive plays that kept the Bengals off balance and off the bases.

In fact, the Bengals mustered only four hits and stranded five base runners in six innings of play before the Knights picked up three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to put the mercy rule into effect.

"Every player in our lineup got at least one hit," said Lone Peak coach Jenae Forsey.

And they definitely got those bats going early, getting six runs on six hits in the first inning. None were scored off a Brighton error. Brighton only committed one error in the game itself as both teams played a solid game from the field.

Baylee Kerr started things off with a single, and Rachael Schoonmaker added an RBI single bringing across the first run of the game after Raven King walked. But that was just the beginning. After Lauren Gourdin picked up her first of three RBIs with a double to deep centerfield, pitcher Whitney Stevens, Elise DeMille and Kristen Nelson each smacked singles to give the Knights their six hits with 11 batters coming to the plate in just the first inning.

"That six-run lead gave them a lot of confidence" said Forsey. "It brought a whole different mindset to the game. We're a totally different team from last year (despite having mostly the same lineup). If it's a year of experience, whatever it is, I'll take it."

Brighton did manage to get a runner to third base in the top of the second when Shelby Everett smacked a double to left center. She was the only Bengal to hit the ball to a hole more than once in the game as she finished with a pair of hits.

"Everybody gave a 100 percent effort from top to bottom making catches that were out of reach and backing up our pitcher," said Forsey.

Lone Peak made more noise from the batter's box in the second inning as King smacked a single up the left side, Schoonmaker added a single up the right, and Gourdin nailed a triple to the gap in left center field, bringing home two more RBIs.

Gourdin finished the game with three-fourths of the cycle complete as she added a single to her double and her triple in the sixth inning. McKenzie St. Clair doubled to the center field fence and Schoonmaker walked before Gourdin singled to the left side of the infield. Stevens knocked a sacrifice fly to center, and LaChelle Eckles finished off the game with a two-RBI single to left.

e-mail: jolsen@desnews.com