In the only  encounter it had last week, the Bonney Lake High fastpitch team rode the bus to Auburn Mountainview’s well-drained, artificial surface diamond and defanged the Lions 3-2.

Auburn Mountainview, which outhit BLHS 8-6, bolted out to a quick 2-0 upper hand after the first inning, but the errorless Panthers didn’t panic. Taking advantage of three different mistakes made by the Lions, the Panthers tied the score in the fourth inning then gleaned what would be the winning run in the sixth stanza, to hang on for the narrow 3-2 triumph that secured BLHS’ lofty status atop the SPSL 3A standings.

With the win, Bonney Lake improved to 7-0 overall and 5-0 in league action.

Panther coach Andrew Sage explained the key to his team’s success, noting his girls go entire after-school sessions without practicing hitting. “We always practice our fielding and glove work, though…that’s what wins games,” he said.

Thinking back over the seven games his team has played, Sage didn’t even need four fingers to tabulate the number of combined throwing and fielding miscues his squad has made. “It just makes things run a lot smoother on the diamond all around when you make fewer errors,” he said.