Yelm faced South Sound Conference rival Peninsula in a two-game series on April 3 and April 4, losing its first game 6-1, and its second 3-2.
The Tornados now sit at 2-7-1 and 0-6 in the South Sound Conference.
Freshman pitcher Landan Halterman made the start on the mound for Yelm in their first game of the week against the Seahawks.
Yelm trailed 2-1 as the game entered the fifth inning, but the 6-1 game “got away” quickly, coach Zach Miller said.
“It starts on the mound, as cliche as it sounds. When we throw strikes, we are competitive and it carries over to playing better defense, and getting back into the dugout to hit,” Miller said after the game. “We just aren’t able to get the big hit at the plate right now to put some distance between us and the opposing team.”
He later added, “Unfortunately we need to learn how to win and put pressure on other teams. Slowly, we are getting there.”
In Yelm’s second matchup of the week against Peninsula, the Tornados sent out sophomore Wyatt Robison to start on the mound.
Yelm performed better during the game as pitchers threw more strikes than they previously had, resulting in less errors. The Tornados were able to cut back on some of their self-inflicted damage.
Yelm had opportunities to score late, but struggled to get going offensively, according to Miller.
Though the Tornados played hard, they fell short to Peninsula 3-2.
“Halterman and Robison had solid starts on the mound last week,” Miller said. “Some guys are starting to click offensively and hopefully we can put together more complete games after spring break.”
While Yelm picked up two losses against Peninsula, the Tornados appear to be taking steps in the right direction. The Tornados run differential this week was negative six runs, which is an improvement from prior weeks.
Yelm will return to action on Tuesday, April 11 and Wednesday, April 12 for a South Sound Conference matchup against Capital High School. The Tornados will host the Cougars on April 11, before they hit the road to travel to Olympia for the second match of the series.
Then on April 14, the team will host Spanaway Lake High School in a non-conference game scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.
