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Reed bests McQueen

Second-year Reed softball coach Jon Wunder wasn’t real pleased with his team’s effort and mental preparation throughout its Northern 4A League game against McQueen Thursday afternoon. He was pleased his squad found a way to win in spite of its lackluster performance.

Reed scored two runs in the third inning and four in the fourth en route to capturing a 6-2 triumph over the visiting Lancers.

"Our intensity and focus was not there today," Wunder said in a postgame interview. "We started slow, but we did get some timely hits. Our approach at the plate was not good. Luckily, we did cluster some hits together when we had to."

Reed was limited to six hits but a few walks and a pair of costly errors for McQueen helped the Raiders’ cause.

The RHS nine broke a scoreless tie with its two third-inning runs. With one out, Cori Gammon singled and stole a pair of bases. After a walk to Makaela Moore, Shivaun Landeros roped a two-run single.

An inning later, Reed extended its edge to 6-0. Junior Danaya Thompson hit a high fly ball to center field that carried out for a leadoff solo homer. Lindsay Yearman followed and reached on an error. She scored on a Megan Dettling single. After a groundout, Gammon singled. Another McQueen error allowed Moore to reach safely while Dettling and Gammon came around to score.

In the four-run frame, only Thompson’s long ball served as an earned run. Reed had six hits in the victory but no raider had more than one.

Reed’s sophomore pitcher, Dettling, thwarted Lancers hitters all day. Her hurling heroics resulted in a 13-strikeout, three-hit performance. She gave up two runs, only one earned, but did have to work out of jams throughout the contest as she walked six.

"She threw well enough to get the win," Wunder said. "Thirteen strikeouts is certainly nothing to scoff at. That last inning, we could’ve taken her out, but I thought it was important for her to handle some adversity and she did."

McQueen coach Matt Weaver echoed those sentiments.

"Dettling moved the ball around well," he said. "She kept our kids off balance with the changeup and hit her spots. She did a good job ... And our errors hurt us. It’s Reed. You can’t even make one error. If you make two errors, you’re behind the eight ball. They’re a very good team."

McQueen (2-5 Northern 4A) broke up Dettling’s shutout bid with a run in the top of the fifth. Alena Wilson walked and circled the sacks after a double by Caitlyn Faulds and a single by Jaqui Martinez.

The Lancers added an unearned run in the top of the seventh. Shania Lawrence reached after striking out but sprinting to first following a Reed error behind the dish. Next, Danielle Stewart singled, but when her liner was misplayed in left field, Lawrence was able to come around to score.

With the win, Reed was able to improve on its perfect mark in conference clashes. The Raiders now sit 6-0 in league and 9-2 overall.

"So far, we have beaten the teams we are supposed to beat," Wunder said. "But that changes now. We are getting into the meat of our schedule, starting with Carson Saturday. We play Carson and Galena, Damonte Ranch and Spanish Springs. It will get tougher ... I think that will help our focus and intensity."