Marysville-Pilchuck rallies past early Arlington lead

ARLINGTON — Sometimes just being in the right position is the difference between winning and losing.

This happened to be one of those times for catcher Jessica Christensen and the Lady Tomahawks as they rallied to a 9-4 Wesco North win at Arlington March 30.

“Luckily we have seasoned pitchers and they helped her make an adjustment when receiving the ball,” said M-P coach KT Allyn.

Arlington earned a quick 2-0 advantage in the first inning off a pair of back-to-back doubles by Kaliee Basher and Lindsey Turner as the Eagles earned three hits in the inning.

But junior pitcher Riley Fritz settled down after helping her catcher make a minor change.

Originally stationed in the middle of the plate, a simple step to one side or the other allowed a different look to the umpire, which resulted in a wider strike zone from which junior pitcher Riley Fritz took advantage.

With Fritz in cruise control after the first inning, the M-P bats came around in the fourth inning with four runs that started with a single by Megan Rollings, who then stole second. Katie Buck hit her in on an RBI double and ended up coming around to score when Hailey Fritz later singled. Jordyn Nickolson then capped the inning with a two-run double.

Nickolson would double again in the sixth inning, driving her third and fourth RBIs of the game.

“It’s nice to see Jordyn have such a great game,” Allyn said. “And she’s just a freshman. That is a performance she can be proud of.”

Also having an impressive showing was Rollings, who went 3-for-4 on the day with a double and a pair of runs scored went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, an RBI and two runs scored.

So far this season, M-P (3-2 overall, 2-0 Wesco North) has been able to string together multiple hits in an inning, which Allyn credits to her top two hitters in the line up, Sacha Clow and Jen Rosie scouting the pitcher for their teammates.

“They’re supposed to see some pitches and relay the movement of pitches, the speed and the location of pitches,” she said. “And they have been doing a tremendous job of that.”

Riley Fritz pitched five innings while allowing just three hits to earn the win (2-0) and was relieved by senior Jen Rosie in the sixth.

The game only went six innings after being called due to lightning.