Crimson Bears win softball clash against Wolfpack

Published 9:30 pm Friday, April 18, 2025

The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé softball team improved to 2-1 in the Railbelt Conference with a 9-4 win over visiting conference foe West Valley Friday at Adair Kennedy Park.

“We thought it went really well,” JDHS coach Lexi Razor said. “The girls were hitting well, played good defense, we were running bases really fast and we were pretty pleased overall with how things turned out.”

West Valley scored the first run of the game in the top of the first inning as Jacquilyn Haberstumpf earned a leadoff walk, advanced on a single by Madison Inderrieden and a walk by Makayla Anderson, and tagged up to score on a fly ball out by Jessalyn Amundson.

JDHS would take control of the game in the bottom of the second inning as they scored six runs.

Crimson Bears freshman Sadie Lockhart reached second on a ground ball error, senior Taiya Bentz reached on an error, Lockhart stole third and scored on a catching error, junior Alayna Echiverri singled to score Bentz, senior Tatum Billings singled to score Echiverri, junior Gwen Nizich reaches on an error scoring Billings, senior Bryanna Eakes walked and Lockhart came back to the plate to single in Eakes.

“She is going up to bat as a freshman and is not phased by the situation, the pressure, or anything,” coach Razor said of Lockhart. “She is just going up there and hitting which is pretty nice to see.”

After West Valley scored two runs in the top of the third JDHS answered with two in the bottom half of the inning with sophomore June Troxel reaching on a ground ball error, Echiverri walked, Troxel scored on a passed ball and Billings singled in Echiverri.

West Valley scored one run in the top of the fourth, and JDHS again answered as sophomore Brynn Wheeler singled and advanced on a Lockhart hit. Wheeler was replaced by junior pinch runner Reegan Hansen who advanced on a Bentz fielder’s choice hit and scored on a ground ball out by sophomore Skylar Oliva.

The JDHS infield played their strongest game to date.

“It feels like we have gotten the jitters out,” coach Razor said of the Crimson Bears defense. “They are playing like they can play. I think that is good. I think they have the potential to be really good and play good defense, but at the beginning of the year they kind of struggled with things. We’ll see if it continues. We’ll keep working hard and try to reduce errors, that is always our goal.”

Billings went 2-3 at the plate with two RBI and one run scored. Lockhart went 1-3 with two RBI and one run scored. Echiverri was 1-1 with one RBI, two runs scored and two walks. Nizich and Wheeler had one hit apiece. Nizich, Eakes and Bentz scored one run apiece.

Key to the Crimson Bears win, and to their season, are their four pitchers.

Junior Gwen Nizich went the distance on Friday and along with Skylar Oliva are the two main starters.

Nizich allowed just four hits and four runs over the five innings, walked six batters and struck out eight.

The rotation also includes Taylor Williams who was slightly injured in Sitka during the opening tournament and Brynn Wheeler.

“We’ve really talked to the pitching staff about our four pitchers,” coach Razor said. “They just really have to hit their spots and pitch strikes. We felt like the last couple days the pitching has gone pretty well and we hope we can continue to grow and improve that way. Having four pitchers on varsity is nice. We have the depth we just need them to be able to throw the strikes and work through conditions like rain.”

Haberstumpf took the loss for West Valley, allowing six hits and nine runs, walking four and striking out five. Riley Anthony, Anderson and Amundson had one RBI each. Haberstumpf, Anderson, Mckenzie and Inderrieden one hit each. Haberstumpf scored two runs, Anthony and McKenzie one apiece.

JDHS is now 2-1 in the Railbelt and 5-4-1 overall. The Crimson Bears split with RBC foes Colony on Wednesday, losing 8-2 and winning 8-4. West Valley is 0-1 in the RBC.

JDHS plays a JV game against West Valley at noon Saturday and the varsity plays a conference game against the Wolfpack at 2 p.m. and a non-conference game at 4 p.m.

• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.