Coronado’s deep batting order takes cuts in rout of Basic

Coronado softball coach Missy Krueger isn’t concerned about her team’s ability at the plate.
“One through nine, we can hit,” she said Friday.

It wasn’t quite one through nine, but Krueger’s assessment wasn’t far off.

The Cougars got hits by seven players, including multi-hit games by four, and routed visiting Basic 8-0 in a key early Southeast League matchup.

Coronado (11-1, 2-0) rapped 13 hits, 11 in the first four innings.

“Our team puts the ball in play,” Krueger said. “They take pride in scoring runs every inning. Our goal is to put pressure on early and let our defense take care of the rest.”

The Cougars relied on making contact and adjusting to pitches on the corners. Eight of their hits were to center field or into the gaps, and they did not strike out against Basic pitcher Tiana Tapuala.

The Cougars took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on RBI singles by Katie Cochran and Danielle Amato after the inning was kept alive by a two-out error by the Wolves (7-4, 1-1).

Amato and Brianna Portese added RBI singles in the third. An RBI triple by Kim Dawson and a run-scoring groundout by Morgan Yuhas made it 6-0 in the fourth, and Lee Harrison added a two-run home run in the sixth.

Harrison, who played despite being ill, went 2-for-3 and pitched a three-hitter with six strikeouts and four walks.

“(Harrison) has a swollen throat. She has a lot of trouble even swallowing water,” Krueger said. “She wanted to go today. I tried to pull her a couple of times, and she wouldn’t let me.”

The Wolves threatened only twice, putting runners on first and second with no outs in the first inning and loading the bases with one out in the fifth.

Yuhas and Amato each had three singles for Coronado, and Harrison and Cochran each had two hits.