On Monday, March 14, the Vashon High School softball team arrived at Cedar Park Christian to play in one of the coldest games in its history.

The Pirates were up to bat first and managed to hit through their batting order and score five runs. Freshman Mia Knight hit a triple in her high school debut before Cedar Park got up to bat and brought their first four batters around.

On the mound, Knight’s pitches were recognized and Vashon came out of the first inning with two strikeouts. In the second inning, junior Makenna McVey scored to bring Vashon to 6.

Cedar Park battled back bringing two runs to tie the score in the third inning.

At the top of the fourth, Vashon snuck two more around on passed balls at the plate, at which time the umpire called the game due to the cold and safety concerns. The pitcher could not get control of her release due to the frigid temperature, so the game ended, reverting to the final score in the third inning, making it a 6-6 tie.

This was a non-league game for Vashon and won’t be replayed.

On Friday, March 18, the team traveled to Darrington to play a non-league game against the Loggers. It was a beautiful day with a snow-capped White Horse Mountain beyond the outfield. It took three innings for Vashon to come alive, and Darrington managed two runs in the first inning due to Pirate jitters.

The Loggers scored two more in the third, and then the Pirates put an end to it. Vashon scored four in the fourth inning, nine in the fifth inning, and four in the sixth inning. The big bat award goes to McVey for hitting a home run out of the park and bringing in three runs.

Knight was the starting pitcher and had success at the mound, striking out three batters. The finisher, freshman Chloe Kuyper, made her debut in the fifth inning, striking out one.

All in all, it was a fantastic game with a final score 17 to 4 Vashon.

The girls were scheduled to play on Monday, but the game was cancelled due to rain.

The teams’ next matches are today, Wednesday, at 4 p.m. at Bellevue’s Forest Ridge High School; Thursday at 4 p.m. at Rainier High School and Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Vashon home opener against Bellevue Christian.

— Jackie Merrill is head coach of the Vashon High School softball team.