The La Conner Braves softball team played two warmup scrimmages in frigid conditions as part of a pre-season jamboree here on Saturday.
La Conner scrimmaged with NW2B/1B foes Orcas Island and Concrete as part of a scheduled four-school event. Darrington was also invited but couldn’t travel due to icy roads in Snohomish County.
In a format less about winning and more about player participation and lineup shuffling, the Braves fell 6-0 to Orcas and 9-5 to Concrete. Each scrimmage was limited to two innings or 40 minutes, whichever came first.
Players and spectators alike wore layers to withstand a brisk north wind.
La Conner head coach Loran James was thankful that the jamboree wasn’t postponed considering the steady rainfall in La Conner the previous two days.
“We had a puddle out here yesterday,” said James as he fetched a bag of Turface Quick Dry to absorb water and mud around the La Conner infield’s pitching circle.
James thought about setting up a portable heater in the Braves dugout, but decided otherwise.
“That would be too bougie,” he quipped.
When action got underway with Orcas, La Conner was cold at the plate other than third baseman Kat Edwards, who delivered a solid single to left-center. Defensively, Edwards also snagged an Orcas liner, and Braves centerfielder Kellie Cayou-Lockrem made a running grab for the first out of the opening frame.
The visitors countered with five walks, three singles and a double over two innings.
La Conner’s offense heated up against Concrete.
Cayou-Lockrem and Aaliyah Gonzalez each delivered singles during a two-run Braves rally in the first. Gonzalez drove in two more La Conner runs in the second with an infield grounder.
Concrete showed patience in its at-bats, working La Conner pitchers for seven walks. The victors also recorded a base hit and a run-producing fielder’s choice.
La Conner plays for real at 4:30 p.m. March 17 at 2A Burlington-Edison and at 4 p.m. March 26 at 1A Granite Falls.
Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
