SNOHOMISH — Half of the 14 players on the Snohomish softball team are freshmen, but you wouldn’t have known it by the way they played in an 11-0 victory over Glacier Peak on Wednesday.
The game ended after five innings due to the 10-run mercy rule.
It was the first home game for Snohomish’s new class of talent and head coach Lou Kennedy said the girls had a youthful exuberance before the game.
“You are talking about seven freshmen,” he said. “You know how wound up they are to play at home today for the first time. They’re bouncing off the ceilings. It’s just trying to calm them down and get them going, but they’re terrific kids.”
Calming his team didn’t turn out to be a problem. Freshman Bailey Greenlee set the tone in the pitcher’s circle in the first inning, retiring Glacier Peak’s first three batters in order.
Greenlee went on to pick up her second win of the year, giving up just one hit and striking out three in four innings.
“She can be overpowering,” Kennedy said. “Her first two or three changeups were about 121/2 feet off the ground. After that, she threw three or four of them for just plain strikeouts. When you can throw in the low 60s and have a good rise-ball and change speeds, that’s formidable at any age. It doesn’t matter how old you are.”
Greenlee is expected to split time pitching with junior Alyssa Simons this season. Senior Shayleh Shamrock is also available to pitch if needed.
“I like a two-pitcher rotation,” Kennedy said. “We do have a third if we need her if we have injury problems. (Shamrock) will probably throw a little next week, but a one-two punch of Bailey and Alyssa can be overpowering.”
Greenlee isn’t the only freshman on the team expected to make an impact. Sami Reynolds, or “the clone” as Kennedy referred to her, made her presence known on Wednesday — not just for her play, but for her resemblance to Trysten Melhart, who graduated last June as perhaps the greatest player ever to don a Snohomish jersey.
Reynolds wears the same jersey number, is similar in stature and even wears a bow in her hair similar to one Melhart used to wear.
“It about kills you to see her from a distance,” Kennedy said of Reynolds. “She’s going to be a great player. She’s got excellent speed and really fast bat speed. She’s a solid gap hitter. … She’s got a work ethic. She’s got a motor that never stops. It’s going to be four more years of fun out there.”
Reynolds went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
In addition to the seven freshmen on varsity, Kennedy said there are even more on the junior varsity team.
“There are three or four (freshmen) kids on JV that in a normal year probably would have been on varsity, but this year is just a freak of nature,” Kennedy said. “It’s a huge class. At least 12 of them play good level select ball. When you hear about them coming in you get all excited, and then you see them. They don’t just play select ball, they’re good at select ball.”
Of the Panthers’ 11 runs, just two scored off of hits. The other nine scored predominantly because of passed balls and walks. All seven freshmen, along with the team’s veterans, showed tremendous patience at the plate throughout the game.
“You’ve got to always play a smart game,” Kennedy said. “Typically our philosophy is, if we are facing a dominant, overpowering pitcher than we get more aggressive. If we’re playing someone who is picking corners and trying too hard to get you to chase something than we get more patient. Will that work with freshmen?
“I don’t know. We’ll find out.”
At Snohomish H.S.
Glacier Peak 000 00x x — 0 1 2
Snohomish 605 0xx x — 11 9 0
Rachel Schonard, Ashley Slemmons (3) and Corall Hjert. Bailey Greenlee, Alyssa Simons (5) and Morgan Greenlee. WP—B. Greenlee (2-0). LP—Schonard (0-1). Records—Glacier Peak 0-1. Snohomish 1-0.
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