Belle Birch and Layliana Segura each hit two home runs and Annie Campos struck out a total of 13 batters as Henley (20-2, 12-0) outscored Klamath Union (8-11, 3-9) 32-4 across both games of a doubleheader Saturday. The run-rule wins guaranteed the Hornets at least a share of the Skyline Conference championship, extending a decade-plus-long streak. Here’s how each matchup unfolded.
Game 1: Henley 18, Klamath Union 2 (5 innings)
The Hornets opened up an 8-0 lead after two innings, with Segura and Birch launching back-to-back homers to cap off a five-run second (Segura’s was a two-run bomb). After adding three more runs in the top of the third, Henley surrendered their first run of the season to Klamath Union on a Dahlia Bunnell single. The Pelicans pushed another run across in the bottom of the fourth on a single by Alex Pinacho to make it 13-2 heading into the fifth.
Haydyn Higgins’ first home run of the season (a two-run blast) was the highlight of the final frame for Henley. The Hornets’ other three runs came on a pair of errors.
The strength of Henley’s bats–and the depth of their lineup–was on full display even absent the three home runs. The Hornets got seven doubles from six different players, with Birch hitting two. Henley also benefited from eight Klamath Union errors that helped give the Hornets 10 unearned runs.
At the plate, Higgins was 2-for-2 with 3 RBI; Campos was 3-for-4 with 2 RBI; Suzy Nichols was 2-for-3 with 2 RBI; Segura was 1-for-3 with 2 RBI; Birch was 3-for-4 with 1 RBI; Natalie Hudson was 2-for-4 with 1 RBI; Anna Harper was 2-for-5 with 1 RBI; Samatha Moore was 1-for-4 with 1 RBI; and Jillian Vikcery was 0-for-2 with 1 RBI. Campos pitched 4 innings in the circle, allowing 4 hits and 2 earned runs while striking out 6. Segura came on to pitch the fifth inning and allowed 0 hits with 1 walk and 1 strikeout.
For Klamath Union, Bunnell and Pinacho were both 1-for-2 with 1 RBI.
Game 2: Henley 14, Klamath Union 2 (5 innings)
Anna Harper launched a no-doubter over the left field wall (her team-leading sixth home run of the season) on the third pitch of the game to kick off a four-run first inning for the Hornets. After Annie Campos struck out the side in the bottom half of the inning, Layliana Segura hit her second two-run bomb of the afternoon (and fifth home run of the season) with two outs in the top of the second. After another 1-2-3 inning for Campos, Belle Birch hit a two-run shot of her own (her second of the day and third of the season) to cap off a five-run third that put Henley up 12-0 as a light but steady rain began to fall.
The Hornets added two more runs in the top of the fourth before relieving Campos, who finished with a line of 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K. The Pelicans hit two home runs in the bottom of the fourth, with Dahlia Bunnell and Kristi Russell going deep.
Five errors by the Klamath Union defense helped Henley score five unearned runs.
At the plate, Segura was 3-for-4 with 3 RBI; Jillian Vickery was 2-for-4 with 3 RBI; Birch was 2-for-2 with 2 RBI; Campos was 1-for-4 with 2 RBI; Harper was 2-for-4 with 1 RBI; and Haydyn Higgins was 1-for-1 with 1 RBI. Segura put up the same line in the circle as she did in Game 1: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.
For Klamath Union, Bunnell was 1-for-2 with 1 RBI and Huffman was 1-for-3 with 1 RBI. Their home runs were the Pelicans’ only hits of the game.
Both teams play again at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Henley travels to Mazama (4-12, 1-9) with a chance to clinch the Skyline Conference title outright, while Klamath Union travels to Phoenix (7-9, 4-6) looking to gain ground on the Pirates for the league’s final postseason berth.
