ARVADA — Arvada West softball coach Brenna Millikan might have needed to ice her right shoulder after Friday’s non-league home game against Castle View.
The Wildcats (2-0 record) stayed undefeated on the season with an impressive 17-1 victory in three innings against the Sabercats. Millikan just kept on waving her players home as they rounded third base in the 13-run bottom of the third inning for the Wildcats.
“We have been working on keeping composed and calm in situations,” Millikan said.
The bottom of the third inning was pretty chaotic with A-West sending 15 batters to the plate in the remarkable 13-run inning. The Wildcats cranked out nine hits and took advantage of three walked and a few fielding errors by Castle View (0-2).
Three Wildcats — Kendall Mulvaney, Kelsie Johnson and Zoey Langerak — actually had two hits each in the third inning. Mulvaney started the inning with a leadoff single and drove a pair of runs in with another single later in the inning. Johnson also had a pair of singles while Langerak had a 2-run double and a triple later in the inning from her 8th hole slot in the batting order.
“I really think anyone in our line-up can deliver the big hit,” Millikan said.
Millikan waved around No. 9 hitter — sophomore Hallie Thomas — for the final run of the game. Thomas ripped a line-drive over the left fielder’s head. The sophomore raced around for an inside-the-park home run to induce the mercy rule.
“I was just thinking about getting a hit for the team,” said Langerak of her big day at the plate. “Just keep the momentum going.”
A-West junior Brooklyn Burgess picked up the win in the circle. Burgess gave up a couple of flare hits in the first inning. Castle View’s Lorena Urrutia knocked in the Sabercats’ lone run in the top of the first inning.
Burgess struck out the side in the second inning and then stranded Ashlyn Acree at third base in the top of the third inning.
“It was very important,” Burgess said of leaving Acree stranded after a 1-out triple in the top of the third inning. “If we didn’t do that I don’t think the rest of the inning would have went the way it did.”
A-West’s pitching staff depth is solid this season with a trio of juniors — Burgess, Mac Ferguson and Sofia Finney — who all saw varsity action last season.
“We are all sharing,” Burgess said of the Wildcats’ three junior pitchers. “We are honestly a team within the team. We all work really well together.”
There won’t be much rest for the Wildcats. A-West hosts Legacy at 10 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday, Aug. 20).
“I feel like it’s going to define who we are as a team,” Langerak said of the Saturday morning game against No. 4 Legacy. “We are going to face some really good competition and we just need to keep this momentum going.”