A roller coaster softball season seems to peak anytime Kellam faces Coastal Conference rival Ocean Lakes this spring.
After handing the Dolphins their first loss in mid-April in theatrical fashion, the Knights won again Tuesday, this time with far less drama.
The visiting Knights’ bats exploded in a 16-4 throttling that ended by the mercy rule. It was Kellam’s third consecutive win and just the second loss of the season for Ocean Lakes.
“It feels great,” Kellam coach Theresa Jones said. “The kids were pumped up. It’s just a big game whenever you play your rival, and this is one of them.”
Kellam (7-7, 5-3 Coastal) took an 8-3 lead into the top of the sixth before stringing together possibly its best offensive inning of the season. The Knights brought 12 batters to the plate and scored eight runs off six hits, jogging off with a 16-3 lead. The game ended in the bottom of the inning due to the 10-run mercy rule.
The Knights jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and added three runs in the fourth and two in the fifth. Kellam’s disciplined hitters (14 hits, four walks) flustered Ocean Lakes starter Michelle Lehan, who fell behind early in many counts. Eight Kellam batters had hits (five with two or more), seven notched RBIs and nine scored runs. The Knights also stranded nine runners, four in scoring position.
“We didn’t swing at bad pitches, which put more pressure on (Lehan)” Jones said. “We were working at-bats and hitting the ball on the ground and making things happen.”
Kellam first baseman Madison Wilson ignited the Knights engine, finishing with a team-high four hits, three RBIs and three runs. She was a home run away from hitting the cycle.
“When she’s on and gets in her zone, it’s hard to stop her,” Jones said. “She runs bases well, she hits well, doubles, triples, whatever you need, she’ll do it. She was just hot.”
Kellam’s Cameron Thompson (three RBIs), Taylor Telford (three RBIs), Rachel Bolin (one RBI) and Hannah Hummel added two hits each.
Kellam sophomore starting pitcher Krista Waller was just as impressive and valuable on the mound, keeping one of the Beach’s top lineups relatively silent and frustrated. Waller allowed four runs off eight hits (two home runs) with one strikeout in six innings.
“She’s getting the chance to do her thing and she’s been phenomenal,” Jones said. “She doesn’t get rattled, and especially for a 10th grader, which is pretty impressive.”
An abundance of uncharacteristic plays piled up for the Dolphins, who entered the game on a torrid 12-1 start to the season.
Ocean Lakes (12-2, 7-2 Coastal) didn’t help itself with its fielding. The Dolphins committed eight errors that led to six Kellam runners reaching base and seven unearned runs.
The Dolphins’ Alexis Rumans was a rare bright spot. She belted solo home runs in the first and sixth innings. Lehan and center fielder Mallory Griffiths notched the team’s other two RBIs.
“We’ve got one week left (before the conference tournament), so it’s the best time you wanna play well,” Jones said. “It’s about being in that zone at the right time.”
