Softball Game Preview: Kalama Chinooks vs. Castle Rock Rockets

For the second straight game, Kalama will face off against Castle Rock. The Chinooks will face off against the Rockets at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Kalama has four straight victories, Castle Rock has five straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Kalama's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Castle Rock with a sharp 10-0 win. The Chinooks might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six matchups by six runs or more this season.

Delaney Rinard made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out seven over five innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in March of 2024. She was also big at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI and two doubles.

In other batting news, Kalama let Brookelyn Waddle and Brooklyn Lavigne run wild. Waddle went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs and one double, while Lavigne went 1-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. That's the most RBI Lavigne has posted since back in March. Colbie Manninen also deserves some recognition as she hit her first triple of the season.

Kalama was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .565. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .321 or higher in four consecutive games.

Kalama pushed their record up to 11-5 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 15.3 runs over those games. As for Castle Rock, their loss dropped their record down to 1-18.