Bellevue College softball gained momentum heading into league play which begins this week by winning all six of their games at the NWAC Inter-Region Invite held at Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey, WA this weekend. On Friday March 10, Bellevue defeated Grays Harbor 16-3 and Centralia 9-1. In the Grays Harbor contest, Bellevue erupted for 15 runs in the first three innings to put the game away early. Sophomores Bri Attwood and Cierra Barkis both had 3 hits. Attwood had 4 RBI’s and a home run. Payton Gibbs and Justi Johnson also homered for BC. Kimber Tutt went the distance in the circle to go to 2-0 on the year and struck out 9 in the win.
On Saturday March 11, the Bulldogs won 10-7 over Wenatchee Valley and 13-3 over traditional NWAC powerhouse Mount Hood (OR). In the highly-anticipated matchup against Mount Hood, Tutt and Gibbs split pitching duties with Tutt earning the win and Gibbs coming in and dominating. Gibbs went the final 1 2/3 innings and did not allow a hit or run and struck out 4. At the plate, Gibbs did the damage as well, going 3-for-3 with 5 RBI’s. She homered again as did Becca Fortney. Hood, at one brief time, had the game tied up at 3 heading into the bottom of the third inning before Bellevue’s bats put it away. Both Gibbs’ and Fortney’s home runs came in the critical 3rd inning for the ‘dogs.
On Sunday March 12, Bellevue defeated Chemeketa 12-2 and Clark 13-5. In the Clark game, Gibbs, once again, was a two-way dominator. In the circle, she struck out 8 in 5 innings of relief work for the win, and went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with 3 RBI’s. The Bulldogs pounded out 17 hits in the game that was ended early due to the run limit rule.
Bellevue is now 10-2 and begins league play in the new three-region format this Thursday March 16 at Olympic. First pitch at Lyons Field in Bremerton is set for 1:00 p.m.
Last Updated March 13, 2017
