It took two hours and 45 minutes, but Henley (14-2, 8-0) came away with another statement win over OSAA No. 11 Hidden Valley (7-6, 4-2) on their second trip to Grants Pass in three days, beating the Mustangs 13-3.
The Hornets got off to a quicker start at the plate than they did Tuesday, taking a 5-0 lead after the first two innings. Hidden Valley scored on an error to get on the board in the third, but Henley answered with three runs in the top of the fourth to go up 8-1.
The Hornets’ comfortable lead seemed to be in serious jeopardy in the bottom of the fourth, but Annie Campos righted the ship before things could get too out of hand. The Mustangs scored on a passed ball, then loaded the bases with one out on back-to-back walks, but Campos forced a pop out to herself and struck out the next batter to escape the inning.
In the fifth inning, Henley scored two runs and Hidden Valley scored one to make it 10-3 heading into the sixth. Both teams went down in order there, with Campos striking out the side. The Hornets added three more runs in the seventh.
Only six of Henley’s 13 runs came on hits. Two came on hit batters with the bases loaded, two came on sacrifice flies, and the other three came on a groundout, a double play and a simultaneous steal of second and home.
Annie Campos pitched her second 7-inning complete game in three days and fourth of the season, allowing 2 hits and walking 7 (including 4 in the fourth inning) while striking out 10 (it was also her second game in a row, and fourth of the season, recording double-digit strikeouts). She threw 150 pitches.
At the plate, Jillian Vickery went 2-for-4 with 4 RBI; Belle Birch went 2-for-2 with 2 RBI; Samantha Moore went 1-for-2 with 2 RBI; Anna Harper went 4-for-5 (her most hits of the season) with 1 RBI; Campos went 1-for-3 with 1 RBI; Layliana Segura went 0-for-1 with 1 RBI (she also drew 3 walks); and Suzy Nichols went 3-for-4.
For Hidden Valley, Chloe Owens went 0-for-3 with the Mustangs’ only RBI, which came on a groundout. She also pitched the last 0.2 innings in relief of Briella Jacob, who threw 172 pitches through the first 6.1.
Henley has now won 10 games in a row and held Hidden Valley to their lowest scoring output of the season in back-to-back games. The Mustangs’ previous season low was six runs at Marshfield April 3.
The Hornets take a break from Skyline Conference play as they host OSAA 4A No. 6 Crook County on Saturday. At 11 a.m., the teams will finish a game from April 3 that was called due to darkness in the fourth inning with the score tied 2-2. At 12:30, they’ll play a new game.
