Makall Whetten produces again for Palo Verde softball
Makall Whetten started Palo Verde’s first game of the day with a home run. She ended its second one with an outfield assist.
Friday was a microcosm of her season as a whole, and it’s been a good one.
The Panthers split their two softball games in the Spring Jamboree at Majestic Park, but Whetten shined in both. And it was her two-RBI double in the second game that opened the floodgates in a 10-0, five-inning win over San Diego (California).
“I just go up there and look for a base hit, and sometimes it turns into something else,” Whetten said. “Just try to put a good swing on the ball.”
The Panthers (14-6) played their second game with an intensity they did not have in the first. Whetten took the first pitch of the game in the back and came around to score two batters later. She came to bat again in the second and drilled a double to the right-center gap to score two. She singled home a run and later scored in the third.
And that was the lesser of her two games. She cranked two solo home runs in a 5-3, six-inning loss to Carson (California) to start the day.
“It’s my senior year, I want to go out with a bang,” said Whetten, a Southern Utah commit. “I try not to put my head up too much.”
She now is hitting .423 with a .534 on-base percentage and .915 slugging percentage. She has seven homers, six doubles, 16 RBIs and 25 runs in 20 games, all from the leadoff spot.
“She’s mentally here every day, and I appreciate that. She’s a good leader,” Palo Verde coach Kelly Glass said. “She’s a great leadoff batter, but she’s also a great RBI producer.”
Sianna Lewis doubled and knocked in two for the Panthers against San Diego, and Lauryn Barker, Jessica Hopkins and Samantha Wade had doubles.
Against Carson, Makenna Martin accounted for the third run on a solo shot. The Panthers took a 3-2 lead into the fifth and turned to star pitcher Taylor Askland to lock down the save.
But a one-out single put a runner on, and an infield error negated what could have been an inning-ending double play. Instead, the next Carson hitter smashed a three-run homer.
“If they want to have any chance at doing what they were capable of doing last year, they have to play well every time they set foot on the field,” Glass said of the 2017 state champion Panthers. “It was very frustrating.”
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Contact Justin Emerson at jeme
Box scores:
Carson (Calif.) 5, Palo Verde 3
Palo Verde 10, San Diego (Calif.) 0
