Niwot softball explodes in victory over Thompson Valley

It took just three innings for Niwot softball to roll past Thompson Valley, 17-0, on Thursday, Sept. 3. The Cougars cranked out 14 hits and freshman Anne Booth left the Eagles hitless at Centennial Park in Loveland.

Niwot, which improved to 3-4, has won three of its last four games after starting the season 0-3 and being outscored 39-5. Head coach Bobby Matthews applauded his team for applying the fundamentals learned in practice to the big stage.

"It's especially nice when they do the things that we've been working on in practice and it translates to a game," Matthews said. "That was the biggest thing. We made the routine outs when we needed to make them, we hit the ball where we should hit it, we played fundamental all the way around, (and) we ran the bases. We did a drill yesterday and it translated to something we did today, so that's huge."

In the circle, Booth blanked Thompson Valley and has been an integral part of Niwot's recent turnaround. Behind Booth, Niwot's defense committed just one error and sophomore second baseman Zoie Chociej tied a high school softball record by recording all three outs in the first inning. "My pitches were going fine and the defense was great too," Booth said after the game.

A no-hit performance, albeit one that spanned just three innings, wasn't even her best outing of the season according to Matthews.

"She (Booth) continues to get better and better," Matthews said. "I thought (the) last game before today was her best game; she had one walk (and) seven K's (strikeouts) against Severance. But you know what, she commanded it. She did what she's supposed to (and) she dominated the hitters she was supposed to dominate. I'm really excited about her progression."

At the plate, Niwot's dominance was highlighted by a 14-run third inning. Senior catcher Dulce Amaya cleared the bases with a triple, tallied a single, stole a base and scored two runs in the inning--a line many would be content with after an entire game.

Amaya was a hero in Niwot's 6-5 comeback win over Severance on Sept. 1, tying the game with a single late in the game, and her confidence translated into Thursday's affair. "She's getting better and better and I'm excited to have her," Matthews said.

Sophomore left fielder Josephine Gravelle and junior first baseman Hannah Bassett both recorded two hits in the inning, and freshman center fielder Autumn Rutherford and junior shortstop Ayva McComas collected an extra-base hit each. The biggest knock of the inning came from Booth who left the yard with a three-run home run.

A freshman's success is rarely without aid from a more experienced teammate and Booth's increased comfort level is evident. "All the older players are awesome," Booth said. "They're really helpful and nice and they don't get on you if you do something wrong."

Veteran leaders in McComas, Amaya, Bassett and junior third baseman Jasmine Aldama, to name a few, recognize the value of staying loose on the field. It's often the players who can best measure the pulse of the team and considering coaching is a two-way street, Matthews isn't afraid to listen.

"As a coaching staff, we took a step back," Matthews said. "Our leadership told us that we were being a little bit too hard on them right now and we needed to maybe work more on situations and teach. We were getting mad for reasons that we shouldn't and for our captain to step up and tell us that, that's huge. That shows the leadership that we have on this team."

Niwot's match-up against Frederick on Sept. 8 was postponed due to inclement weather. The Cougars have a non-conference matchup against Peak to Peak on Sept. 11.