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NEWPORT — The Newport High School softball team defeated cross-border rival Priest River Tuesday, April 7 in a triple, where both teams also played Riverside at Newport.
“Everyone played well, and we hit the ball very well in both games,” Newport coach Steve Braun says.
Newport (4-4, 4-2) won against Priest River (1-11, 0-7) 23-13. (See Booster for more.)
The Grizzlies took an early lead against the Spartans in the first inning, scoring 1 run while Priest River scored none. They held onto their lead, outscoring Priest River again at the bottom of the second inning with 5 runs to Priest River’s 0.
Priest River managed to make a comeback midgame, scoring 8 runs in the third inning. Still, Newport outscored Priest River with 9 runs. Though Priest River scored 5 runs in the fourth inning, Newport wasn’t far behind them, scoring 4 runs.
By the end of the fifth inning, the Grizzlies had scored another 4 runs, securing the win for Newport.
Bella Boyd led Newport against the Spartans, with five hits, a season-high 5 RBIs and 4 runs, including one home run she hit to center field in the second inning. She then doubled in the third inning, singled in the fourth inning and tripled in the fifth inning.
“Bella Boyd hit for the cycle to carry Newport varsity Griz to victory over Priest River,” Braun says.
Julie Bowman went for a perfect 5-for-5 with 5 runs, two stolen bases, 5 RBIs and five hits. Another player who made a difference was Grace Parry, Braun says, who went 3-for-4 with two triples, three runs and one stolen base, as well as 1 RBI and three hits.
Jasmine Billiter added 1 RBI and four hits, Lilli Hall 3 RBIs and three hits. Cheyanne Frisk, Abby Martin and Stormie Tucker each added 2 RBIs, while Tucker added another three hits.
They also played Riverside (2-4, 0-0), losing 15-14. Newport exchanged runs with Riverside through all seven innings.
Riverside scored 4 runs in the first inning, followed by Newport with 2 runs in the second inning. In the third and fourth innings, both teams scored the same: 2 runs in the third, 3 runs in the fourth.
In the fifth inning, Riverside widened their lead by 4 more runs, pushing the score to 13-7.
In response, Newport again scored the same 2 runs as Riverside in the sixth inning. After scoring another 5 runs in the seventh inning, Newport pulled the score to 14-15, ending the game just 1 run short of a tie and 2 of victory.
Hall led Newport and went 4-for-5 with 4 runs, 1 RBI and four hits, as well as two of the five stolen bases that game. Frisk added 3 RBIs and one hit, Parry 2 RBIs and one hit. Boyd added three hits, Bowman two and Billiter, Makayla Peone and Koller one each.
The Grizzlies next visited Davenport Tuesday, April 14 after The Miner’s weekly deadline.
Saturday, April 18, they host Davenport for a doubleheader, with game one at noon and game two at 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 21, Newport hosts Reardan at 4:30 p.m.
