RAINIER — Rainier Mountaineers slugger Ryleigh Cruse is used to hitting home runs with family watching behind the fence or in the stands.
But against the Mossyrock Vikings in Rainier Monday night, Cruse crushed a home run with family in the opposing dugout.
Mossyrock head coach Keith Coleman, Cruse’s great uncle, could only watch as the sophomore cranked a three-run bomb over the fence in left center field in the first inning. Her two-run single in the fourth gave her a career-high five runs batted in as Rainier knocked off Mossyrock 9-3 in a non-league contest between Central 2B League foes.
“It felt pretty good honestly. I wanted to hit well against this team, but I wasn’t expecting a home run,” Cruse said.
“It’s always fun to face her,” Coleman added. “She’s solid and she’s a good ball player.”
Cruse started the game in the circle, as well, and the Vikings struck first by capitalizing on two Mountaineers errors, one in the infield and one in the outfield, to take a 1-0 advantage in the first.
Cruse stepped into the box with leadoff hitter Mia Naval at second after a walk and Elaina Henry at first with a single. She caught all of an Erin Cournyer off-speed pitch for her first extra-base hit of the season, giving Rainier a 3-1 lead. The Mountaineers had a chance to stretch the lead in the first with the bases loaded and one out, but Lucy Wolfe and Victoria Garcia struck out to end the inning.
Mossyrock’s first hit off of Cruse came from Maci Rashoff in the second inning as she brought Ashley Schwartz and Annika Ball home with a single up the middle to knot the score at 3. Two more Vikings advanced into scoring position, but Brooke Schwartz grounded out to keep the game tied.
Layla Hill came up clutch in the third inning by allowing Keira Anderson to score the go-ahead run from third on a weak ground ball back to the circle.
On a night with plenty of novel experiences already, Cruse sat after just three innings of work, something that would have been unheard of each of the last two years. She was replaced by sophomore Elaina Henry, who came in and plunked her first batter before stonewalling the Vikings from that point. Her off-speed pitches were complemented by some sizzling speed that left Vikings hitters dazed.
Rainier head coach Katie Qualls said the addition of Henry to the pitching rotation has been beneficial not just for the Mountaineers but for Cruse, who has been the workhorse in the circle throughout her varsity career.
“When Elaina pitches, Ryleigh doesn’t have to take on the whole burden. She needs to remember that she’s also an excellent third base person and she is one of our best hitters,” Qualls said. “I think she’s finally relaxing and coming into her own.”
Henry pitched four hitless innings and struck out five batters compared to just one walk. She tossed 46 pitches, with 31 of them for strikes. In five appearances, Henry has walked only five of the 118 batters she’s faced and has recorded 28 punchouts.
“She showed up. That’s what we needed. I can’t thank her enough for it,” Cruse said of Henry. “It’s really nice to be able to switch up the speeds because we have a good difference in speed and spin. It’s a lift off my shoulders.”
Cruse added to the lead with a two-run single in the fourth, and Anderson blew the game open in the sixth on a two-run double. Hill’s second RBI and second hit of the night capped off the three-run sixth.
Mossyrock tallied just three hits in the 9-3 loss, and Cournyer logged her fourth complete game in a losing effort. She allowed nine hits and nine runs, seven earned, along with six walks over six innings while striking out five.
“She did a good job. She’s pretty steady. She’s always a gamer. She had a few innings where it was three up and three down and they made plays behind her,” Coleman said of Cournyer.
Rainier (4-2) has won four straight and will visit Winlock (0-5, 0-1 C2BL) on Thursday at 4 p.m. in another non-league contest. The Mountaineers return from spring break with three straight home C2BL games, the first coming against Toledo on April 14.
Mossyrock (2-4, 1-1 C2BL) returns home to face Napavine (4-2, 1-0 C2BL) on Thursday at 4 p.m. for its final game before spring break.
