Warlassies roll to fourth straight victory
Offense, defense and Pitching on display in 14-0 win over Mitchell
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
March 27, 2026
An 8-run second inning, five frames of hitless pitching and skilled defense powered the Warlassies, March 27, to a 14-0 home victory over Mitchell.
Owen, boosted by 4 runs batted in from junior Mia Roland and 3 off the bat of sophomore Katie Knighton, extended its winning to streak to 4 games, while improving to 9-2, overall, and 6-0 in the Western Highlands Conference.
Sophomore pitcher Kylie Gurekey notched 8 strikeouts and 3 walks in her fourth win of the campaign, while junior right fielder Avery Boone and freshman center fielder Haley Duvall prevented a pair of Mountaineer hits with running catches in the outfield.
While pitching and defense kept opposing batters in check, all 9 Owen players in the starting lineup collected at least one hit in the contest. Roland finished the night going 4-4, including her team-leading fifth home run of the season.
Led by the junior shortstop, batting .800 with 19 RBI in 42 plate appearances, the Warlassies have outscored their opponents by a combined 56-4 since March 20. Bolstering the offensive attack is senior Easton Whitson, hitting .500 with 19 RBI and 3 home runs, and junior Payten Brockman, the team’s second-leading hitter with an average of .566 and 17 RBI.
The defending conference champions played their “most complete game” of the season, as Owen concluded the regular season sweep of Mitchell, according to head coach Jeff Grier.
“We played our brand of softball, and it doesn’t hurt when Kylie Gurecky goes out there and pitches the kind of game she did,” he said. “Mia was perfect at the plate today, Katie had some big hits and Avery Boone swiped 3 bases, so it was an overall team performance.”
Run production has been key for the Warlassies, who are averaging over 12 per game through the first half of the season.
“We just want to put the ball in play, because not everything is going to be a home run,” Grier said. “We don’t try to hit home runs all the time, we just want to get runners on, be aggressive on the base paths and control the variables we can control.”
Owen will travel to Hendersonville, Tuesday, March 31, for another WHC matchup against the 1-7 Bearcats.
“We need to keep doing what we’re doing and take it one game at a time,” the coach said. “We have to respect every opponent and make sure Owen doesn’t beat Owen. As long as we stay in control of our effort and attitude, we’ll be happy with that.”
Photos of Owen’s 14-0 victory over Mitchell can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.