Crater regroups in twin-bill closer to keep MWL title hopes alive

Published 2:13 pm Saturday, May 3, 2025

By KRIS HENRY / Rogue Valley Times

After coughing up Game 1 lead late, fifth-ranked Comets salvage split with Game 2 comeback against No. 3 Thurston

CENTRAL POINT — After a pair of heartbreaking losses and a rough start to the three-game series finale against Thurston, Crater softball coach Chris Arnold drew his team together and offered up the simplest of directions for the rest of the Class 5A top-five showdown.

Looking around the mid-inning huddle in the second frame, the veteran Comet leader calmly pointed out that the only thing the group cast out to do at the beginning of Friday’s doubleheader was simply play hard.

Crater certainly hadn’t lacked for effort at that time, mind you, but a change in focus from results in the field or in the batter’s box seemed to take a little weight off the No. 5-ranked Comets’ shoulders.

Trailing 5-1 at that point to third-ranked Thurston in a battle of Midwestern League title hopefuls, Crater steadily began to climb back into Friday’s nightcap and — although pushed to the end yet again — came out on top for the first time with an 8-7 triumph.

Crater starting pitcher Abbey Canfield was able to leave the tying run stranded on first base in the seventh when she induced a game-ending pop-up by leadoff hitter Gaby Montes to shortstop Allyson Nottingham.

Crater pitcher Abbey Canfield unwinds for a pitch during Game 2 against Thurston Friday in Central Point. (Kris Henry / Rogue Valley Times)

“The girls resoundingly said their motivation in that second game was just playing for each other,” Arnold said of the turnaround. “That was the biggest takeaway for us was our ability to battle back in that second game, particularly at the plate. We were not clean defensively, but we did a much better job at the plate.”

Certainly overall composure also played a key role for Crater (10-8, 7-2 MWL), which had already suffered two tough losses to the Colts (14-5, 9-3).

“Sometimes it’s not the X’s and O’s but body language, and how your teammates perceive you when you’re frustrated and things aren’t going well,” said Arnold. “I thought, collectively, the girls did a great job modeling not just the body language, but the behaviors and what to say when things are rough.”

“That was really the big victory for us,” he added, “yeah, on the scoreboard, but also with the belief in each other in that kind of situation. It was really impressive in that second game, especially after spotting them four runs in the first inning and coming off an injury there to our right fielder (on an outfield collision).”

The Comets carried a 5-3 lead into the seventh inning Tuesday before Thurston rallied with three runs in its final at-bat for a 6-5 win. In Game 1 of Friday’s doubleheader, Crater led 2-0 entering the sixth inning before the wheels came off and the Colts scored seven unanswered runs to steal a 7-2 comeback victory.

“I think the girls did believe that we were the ones that were in control of that first game, and that we were the ones that allowed that to happen,” said Arnold. “We took ownership of the mistakes, but we also recognized that Thurston is a strong team. Top to bottom, they’ve got a deep lineup of hitters. Despite that, we were confident in what we could do at the plate, too, and I think that helped propel us in that second game.”

Slowly chipping away at their deficit, the Comets were finally able to get back on top in the fifth inning when they pushed three runs across the plate against Thurston ace Kasey Ogan for an 8-5 advantage.

The bottom half of Crater’s lineup came through in the pivotal frame, with sophomore Khloe Cochran breaking out of a slump at the plate with a hard-hit ball that resulted in an error and allowed her to reach safely. Junior Espn Ostroskie, who was able to re-enter after her scary collision in the first inning, reached on another error to keep the wheels in motion.

Sophomore Gracey Thomas drew a walk to load the bases before junior Logan Floyd plated the first of three runs by ensuring contact.

Crater senior Danika Brackett turns on a pitch for a single against Thurston during Game 2 Friday in Central Point. (Kris Henry / Rogue Valley Times)

“Thurston, I’m sure, would like to have that inning back as well defensively,” said Arnold, “but that was kind of our plan going in that we’ve got to move the ball and we’ve got to put it in play. Thurston, again, is a good defensive team, but they did make a couple mistakes there and then the walk helped out.”

“Logan Floyd, our No. 9 hitter, is in that spot to turn the lineup over, and she did a great job of putting the ball in play on a groundball back to the pitcher that allowed the run to score from third.”

Then stepped up senior Danika Brackett, who hit a sacrifice fly to center field that allowed Ostroskie to score, and Thomas wound up scoring as well when the relay in was mishandled for another Thurston error.

The Colts tallied twice in the top of the seventh to create a little of that “here we go again” doubt, but not enough to deter the Comets this time around.

“We had to withstand a little furious comeback there in the seventh inning,” said Arnold, “but it was nice to see us close one out like that.”

“Abbey kind of had that stone-faced exterior throughout that game, knowing that these guys can hit the ball pretty well,” he added. “She did a great job, especially at the end, of gutting it out and continuing to throw the pitches she wanted to throw. Both of our pitchers, Ally in Game 1 and Abbey in the second game, really did a tremendous job limiting a great hitting ball team in Thurston.”

Crater senior Taylor Ryan avoids a tag at second base for a stolen base Friday against Thurston in Central Point. (Kris Henry / Rogue Valley Times)

Brackett combined to go 7-for-8 with three runs scored, two stolen bases and one RBI in the twin bill, and finished 10-for-12 in the series to pace Crater’s offensive attack. Senior Taylor Ryan also enjoyed a strong showing by combining to go 4-for-6 in the doubleheader, while junior Amanda Hammer echoed her effort from Tuesday by going 2-for-4 with two RBIs in Game 2.

Next up for the Comets is another marquee MWL series with Eagle Point (11-6, 8-1), which took two of the three games against Thurston last week to move into the No. 7 spot in the 5A coaches poll.

“There’s no rest, and you sure like that,” said Arnold. “We talk about that every year that we love it when there’s a competitive race, I think all the teams do. The league is continuing to grow and more and more of our games are competitive every single time we step on the field.”

“There’s a potential that these three teams — Eagle Point, Thurston and Crater — logistically there could be a tie at the top of the conference,” he added. “Our destiny is still completely in our hands with this next week, so if we take care of business and do what we need to do, that will put us where we want to be.

“Eagle Point has momentum and they did a great job when they were battling Thurston. Eagle Point is a great hitting ball team and they’ve got some quality pitchers as well, so we definitely want to be ready. I think the momentum of that second game today will definitely be a benefit for us, with the girls knowing and understanding what we need to do and what we can do to be successful.”

Reach sports editor Kris Henry at kris.henry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035

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