OLYMPIA — Jeremy Taylor-Sparks knew when he took over as the head softball coach of Capital High School that the team would endure some growing pains this spring.
Out of the 17 girls on the team, only six had played fastpitch prior to this season.
Taylor-Sparks was officially hired just six weeks ago to a staff that includes eight coaches, seven of which are Capital alumni. While he boasts over 21 years of softball coaching experience, he was handed the task of hitting the ground running with Capital immediately and setting a new foundation in a competitive Puget Sound League.
The growing pains were evident in Capital’s 22-6 loss to Silas at Stevens Field Wednesday afternoon. Silas’ top three hitters in the lineup — Nevaeh Rodriguez, Cailey Howell and Natalie Medalia — combined to hit 14 of 15 with 10 runs batted in and five extra-base hits. The Rams piled on four runs in the first, four in the second, seven in the third, five in the fourth and two in the fifth, capitalizing on a sloppy defensive day from the Cougars.
After the game, Taylor-Sparks emphasized two components to his team: energy and effort.
“I want to see them not be scared to fail. The energy and energy will come when we don’t worry about failing,” he said. “Right now, we have a lot of new players that are worried about failing. I told them that you’re not gonna upset me or the coaches. Just give us 110%. That’s all we ask.”
Silas immediately went to work on offense against Capital sophomore pitcher Lexie Dura in the first inning. Rodriguez singled, and Howell and Medalia both doubled on the first pitches they saw, each driving in a run. The Rams tacked on a fourth run before the end of the first frame.
The Cougars loaded the bases with no one out in the first inning but could only get one run as Natasha Drinkall earned a bases-loaded walk.
For the second straight inning, Silas reeled off three straight hits to start the frame, two of which brought home a run. The Rams consistently found gaps in the defense and ran the bases effectively to apply pressure on Dura and the Cougars fielders. After scoring two more in the second to jump ahead 8-1, the Rams blew the game open in the third. The first seven batters reached, scoring six more runs before the first out of the inning.
Down 15-1 entering the bottom of the third, Capital continued to fight and scrapped for quality at-bats. Davanee Weide and Dura led off the inning with singles, and Devyn Zipperer walked to load the bases. This time, the Cougars cashed in with the bases juiced. Tailana Salonga drove in a run by grounding into a fielder’s choice, and Ashlynn O’Hara brought another runner home on a sacrifice groundout.
After Lydia Casey walked to lead off the fourth for Silas, Rodriguez, Howell and Medalia crushed Capital again with a single, double and triple, respectively. Howell’s double scored one, and Medalia’s triple scored two. Silas collected two more runs in the fourth and another two in the fifth.
Capital’s best inning of work came in the fifth and final stanza. Dura delivered her second hit of the night with a leadoff triple to center, and the Cougars once again loaded the bases with no one out thanks to a walk by Zipperer and Salonga’s hit by pitch. Dura came around to score on a passed ball, and both Zipperer and Salonga scored on wild pitches.
The youthful Cougars had several opportunities to put a dent in the margin with a big hit, but it never quite came.
Dura pitched all five innings for Capital, striking out nine. She stayed in the game after taking a comebacker to the hand.
“Lexie’s tough as nails. She took the ball off her hand, and she didn’t come out,” Taylor-Sparks said of Dura. “That’s what you want from a captain and a leader. Her drive and her wanting to be better and the way she leads is very impressive. She leads with her actions, not just with her voice.”
While the Cougars are in the midst of their growing-pain phase early in the season, Taylor-Sparks has seen his team flash its potential at times. The biggest key in Capital’s success going forward, he said, is the team learning the fundamentals of the game and believing in the program.
“The standard we wanted to set was believing in our program and building a foundation for now and for the future,” Taylor-Sparks said. “We’re doing great considering the amount of people that have never actually played the sport. Our standards are high, and our expectations are high. We’ve just got to learn this game. Once they get that field IQ and that knowledge, we’re going to be pretty dangerous.”
Capital (0-2, 0-2 Puget Sound League) will face Black Hills in a non-league bout on the road Friday.
