The Humboldt Smoke Fastpitch softball players gained some valuable experience at this week’s NorthWest Fastpitch Alliance Tournament in Medford, Oregon.
It took the team bats a couple of days to warm up, but they settled into the tournament and matched up effectively against some teams featuring mostly college players.
The newly-formed Smoke 18Us dropped their opening four games in pool play, but enjoyed a good day on a busy Saturday when the tournament playoffs got under way.
They opened Saturday against the Titans and fell 2-0 to a team that featured a pitcher from Iowa Tech and a catcher who plays for the Oregon Ducks.
Isabel Sanchez, a Fortuna graduate who will play at College of the Redwoods this coming year, got the start in the circle for the Smoke and pitched well, striking out 10 in the loss.
“She shut them down,” Smoke coach Joe Brown said. “We just couldn’t get any offense going.”
The Smoke bats finally woke up in their second game of the day, and it resulted in a 6-3 win over the top seeds at the tournament, the Screaming Eagles, who were eliminated with the loss.
South Fork’s Mackenzie Coleman had a big game at shortstop and also helped key the offensive surge, finishing 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs.
Fortuna’s Sephora Machado also had a good game at the plate, finishing 1-for-2 with a two-RBI double, while Nallia Mayer added two hits with an RBI and a run scored.
Recent Eureka High graduate Bailey Brown, who will also play at CR next year, had a good game in center field.
“Bailey Brown was lights out,” Joe Brown said. “She ran down everything and has some serious range in the outfield.”
Sanchez got the win in the circle, striking out six, with the team defense making plays behind her.
Sanchez helped the defense with an impressive diving catch to end the fifth inning.
The Smoke players took the field for a third game late on Saturday night and fell 6-3 to the Lydo’s Lab to end their tournament.
Daylin Brown led the way at the plate in that loss, finishing 2-for-3, while Sanchez also had two hits.
Eureka’s Ella Moxon also added two hits to cap an impressive few days at the plate for the soon-to-be high school sophomore.
Overall, it was a good experience for the local players.
“Just about everybody ion the roster contributed in one way or another,” Joe Brown said. “It was pretty impressive.
“It was a great experience for them and they loved it.”
The local travel team will be back in action in mid August when they host a tournament at the Bear River Casino sports complex.
