SEASON SWEEP: Harris leads Washington past Northern Nash

Published 10:23 pm Wednesday, March 16, 2016

MICHAEL PRUNKA | DAILY NEWS SLIDING IN: Hailey Harris slides into home for Washington’s first run of the game. The only thing better than her offensive production was her stellar pitching.

MICHAEL PRUNKA | DAILY NEWS
SLIDING IN: Hailey Harris slides into home for Washington’s first run of the game. The only thing better than her offensive production was her stellar pitching.

Hailey Harris pitched a one-hit shutout Wednesday as Washington went on to complete the sweep of Northern Nash with a 5-0 win. She faced just three batters in three of the seven innings, including a fifth frame in which she struck out the side.

Things started off rough for Harris when she walked Northern Nash leadoff batter Jenna McKenney. She then got Brook Taylor to fly out to right field before getting Katelyn Wood to ground into a 4-6-3 double play.

The offense fed off the defense in the bottom of the frame. Style McKissick led off by flying out to left center, but Harris followed her up by singling through the left side and reaching second on an error at first base.

Chrissy McKissick popped up a fly ball that barely landed in fair territory to reach first and push Harris to third. She stole second, putting two Lady Pack players in scoring position.

Aggression has been a theme of Washington’s offense so far this season. This game was no exception.

“We stole a bunch of bases tonight,” Lady Pack coach Doug Whitehead said. “That’s 60 feet closer. It’s just a great thing. I had one get a base hit and advance all the way from first to third. The girls, they’re smart ball players.”

With only one out, Washington made use of some small-ball tactics. Megan Moore pushed across Harris for the first run — and what held up as the game winner — with a sac-fly to center. McKissick scored on the throw.

Jada Lodge rounded out a three-run first inning by reaching thanks to an error in the outfield and later scoring on a wild pitch.

“We got runs early and getting runs early helped the confidence for everybody,” Whitehead said. “We got three and then two later. We’ve been scoring a bunch of runs and this was not as much, but we’re very happy with the win.”

The next few innings went by with little action. The Lady Pack retired the visitors in order in the second. With two outs, Style McKissick threatened to score when she stole second, but was stranded. They left another in scoring position in the third.

MICHAEL PRUNKA | DAILY NEWS
EYE ON THE BALL: Style McKissick squares herself up at the plate. She topped the Lady Pack batting order. Her double in the fourth inning plated Washington’s fourth and fifth runs of the game.

The Lady Knights struggled getting on base. They were able to do so in the third and fourth frames, but left both runners on second base.

The fourth was fruitful for the Lady Pack. Briley Waters lined a base hit shallow in right field. Sarah Lynch followed that with a single of her own. Her bunt put a spin on the ball to help it elude the Lady Knight trying to field it.

Meghan Horton moved Waters and Lynch another base over with her sac-bunt. That set up McKissick to score them when she belted a double right through the opposing shortstop.

Washington got a runner on second in the sixth, but that was it for scoring. Harris fanned all three batters in the fifth and the first two in the sixth. A great throw from the outfield helped tag out a Lady Knight that overran second base.

The win makes three in a row and improves Washington’s record to 5-2.