Moose earn first softball win of year

Defense cost the Palmer softball team its opening game of the season, but defense won the Moose their second game of the season Friday at Steve Shearer Memorial Ball Park in Kenai.

The Moose (1-1 overall) defeated Kenai Central (0-5) 20-9 in nonconference action. The game west three innings before reaching the time limit of 1.5 hours.

Palmer outhit Kenai 13-8 while the Kardinals walked seven times to six of the Moose.

The real difference came on defense, where Kenai made five errors that led to 13 runs, while the Moose had a single error that led to one run.

Moose head coach David Sutton said the team played a lot better than in a 20-1 loss at Homer on Thursday.

“Against Homer, we had quite a few errors,” Sutton said. “They were just better defensively.”

Winter weather in the Valley has meant Palmer was spending just its sixth day on a real field Friday. Sutton, who has been coaching the Moose for five years, expected a tough battle from the Kards — a program he respects.

“It was a big step forward for our team and a confidence builder for our program,” Sutton said.

Kenai had a 2-1 lead after the first inning, but Palmer put up 12 runs in the second.

If not for errors, the Kardinals could have gotten out of the inning yielding just one run.

“We had one super bad inning,” Kenai head coach John Manley said. “We made some bad throws. That’s uncharacteristic of what we’ve been doing.”

Sutton said the early season can be tough for pitchers because technique is not dialed in yet, leading to fatigue.

The coach gave his pitcher credit for staying mentally tough.

She stranded seven runners in just three innings. Also playing strong on defense, according to Sutton, were second baseman Dani Farley and first baseman Alexis Calvert.

For Kenai, Manley was happy with the way Lexi Reis pitched.

“We still walked too many,” he said. “Each game, she gets better and better, and I’m happy with that.”

The Kards also continue to improve on offense, stringing together four straight hits in the third inning.

Abby Every was 2 for 2 with two RBIs, while Nereid Phillips was 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs. Kylen Lakshas had a double and three runs, Andie Galloway had a double and two runs, Zaharah Wilshusen had two runs, and Reis was 1 for 1 with two RBI. “This is a young team,” Manley said. “If they stay together and keep working, I know they’ll be good. I’m not sure if it will happen this year or next year.”

For Palmer, Rachel Farley was 4 for 4 with two runs and two RBIs, while Evans was 3 for 4 with two runs and two RBIs. Also for the Moose, Kelsey Giese was 2 for 3 with three runs, Carrie McQuillin was 2 for 2 with four runs and an RBI,

Aria Beames had two RBIs, Zoe Patton-Meyer had three runs and Dani Farley and Besse each had two runs.