Prep softball: Hawks edge Warriors 3-2

Although the Mountlake Terrace Hawks have been red hot lately, winning 11 of their previous 12 games, the team still had some bad feelings from a game played five weeks ago. On Friday, the Hawks were able to rid themselves of some of those emotions.

Terrace avenged a March 22 loss to Edmonds-Woodway by defeating the Warriors 3-2 in a 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference showdown played Friday at Mountlake Terrace High School.

With the victory, Terrace kept their grasp on first place in the Wesco League South Conference, one game ahead of the Meadowdale Mavericks. The Warriors, now losers in three of their past four contests, fell two-games behind the conference-leading Hawks.

Terrace had been looking forward to a rematch with the Warriors ever since E-W scored a 12-10 come-from-behind victory over the Hawks earlier this year. Terrace had led 10-6 late in that ballgame, only to give up six runs in the sixth inning and hand the Warriors the win.

“That made us very mad,” said Terrace’s Jazz Zenk, who labeled the way the team loss to E-W on March 22 “embarrassing.”

“We talked about it all the time,” Zenk continued. “We came out so strong in that game and then we just kind of let it all fall apart, so that wasn’t very good. But we knew we were going to come out strong in this game, and we knew what we wanted to do. We had one goal, and that was to beat them.”

Zenk pounded a fifth-inning solo home run over the center field fence on Friday for what turned out to be the winning run in the game.

“It didn’t really feel like the best hit, but I knew I hit it on the right spot on the bat,” Zenk said of her homer.

After rounding the bases, Zenk was greeted at home plate by her teammates, where a team tradition got a little out of hand for the junior.

“Every time you run up and then jump on the plate, and then everyone slaps your head really hard,” Zenk explained of the usual home run celebration. “And this time they hit me harder than they ever had. Charis (Jones), one of our freshmen, hugged me after and it kind of stabilized me, so that was good. I was a little shook up after that.”

It was Terrace pitcher Kira Doan that had the Warriors shook up at the plate on Friday. The senior didn’t give up a hit until the seventh inning, struck out four and walked just two to earn the victory.

E-W Coach Mike Venable admitted that Doan made things difficult for his squad. “The pitcher from Mountlake Terrace was awfully good today,” he noted. “Until the last couple of innings, we couldn’t really figure her out. We got a couple good swings on the ball in the last couple innings, but a little bit too late.”

Despite the struggle against Doan, Venable liked the way his team remained determined to the end.

“They came together in the last couple of innings and I praised them for that. I said that’s great; you didn’t have your heads down, you hung in there and gave it a good go,” Venable said.

The Warriors won’t be able to think too much about Friday’s defeat as the team is back home on Monday, May 1, to face Glacier Peak; first pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Terrace will wait until Wednesday, May 3, to get back into action when they host Shorecrest at 4 p.m. Until then, Zenk and her teammates will enjoy the view at the top of the conference standings.

“It feels good,” Zenk said. “I know we deserve it. We’ve been working really hard and our connection this year is really strong. I think we have the potential to go really far.”

Prep Softball: Edmonds-Woodway at Mountlake Terrace, Apr. 28

Edmonds-Woodway 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 — 2 2 1
Mountlake Terrace 1 1 0 0 1 0 x — 3 5 2

Winning pitcher: Kira Doan (Mountlake Terrace)
Losing pitcher: Mariah Woolery (Edmonds-Woodway)

Records: Edmonds-Woodway 9-4 in 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference, 9-6 overall; Mountlake Terrace 11-2 in 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference, 12-3 overall

Edmonds-Woodway next game: versus Glacier Peak, Monday, May 1, 4 p.m. at Edmonds-Woodway High School

Mountlake Terrace next game: versus Shorecrest, Wednesday, May 3, 4 p.m. at Mountlake Terrace High School

— By Doug Petrowski

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