Golden defense proved to have a calming effect on Kentlake High ace Nikole Weber on Friday afternoon.
Weber served up a gem in the circle in large part thanks to some superlative defense behind her and Erika Smyth banged out three hits as Kentlake blanked Spanaway Lake 3-0 at Service Ball Fields in Kent.
The win helped the Falcons, 13-6, nab the South Puget Sound League’s No. 7 seed to the West Central District tournament, which is slated for Friday and Saturday at Sprinker Recreation Center in Spanaway. The top six teams from the 16-team field advance to state.
Kentlake will need more of the same from Weber, who was nearly flawless against the Sentinels.
The junior right-hander faced just 22 batters — one more than the minimum — and allowed just two hits. But that was just part of the performance as Weber needed just 62 pitches to get past the Sentinels, 43 of which were strikes. She finished with six strikeouts as well.
“I felt pretty relaxed because my defense was doing really good,” Weber said.
Indeed. Kentlake catcher Jessie Richardson provided a handful of highlights, gunning down one Spanaway Lake runner on an attempted steal, and collected a pair of tough behind-the-plate popups. In addition, Kentlake proved to be a vacuum in the outfield.
“I was really happy for Nikole. She has just been dynamite all year,” said Kentlake coach Greg Kaas. “She has got a great defense. If we can play up to our potential defensively, we’re going to be a tough team to beat.”
The Falcons were just that Friday afternoon.
After allowing a leadoff single, Weber retired the next 12 batters. Richardson quickly erased that lead off single on the attempted steal, allowing Weber to cruise through the first four innings having faced only 12 Spanaway Lake batters.
After collecting another single in the fifth, Weber retired the final eight Spanaway Lake batters.
The Kentlake ace had Spanaway Lake guessing all afternoon.
“When you keep them off balance, good things are going to happen,” Kaas said. “You get them out lunging, their hands drop and they pop it up.”
Which is exactly what happened as Weber induced the Sentinels into six weak popups.
The Falcons gave their pitcher all she would need in the second inning. Smyth led off with a deep double to center field and later came home on a fielder’s choice. Smyth went 3-for-4 with a stolen base in the game.
Kentlake added two more runs in the third, when Smyth singled home Brooke Evans and Erin Crowley scored on a wild pitch.
Staked to a 3-0 lead, Weber made quick work of the Sentinels the rest of the way.
And she finished in style, too, needing just three pitches in the seventh to seal the win.
“I was a little bit nervous before the game because it’s for district, but as soon as I got out there and started throwing, I was fine,” she said.
