By Al Camp
Chronicle staff

     Omak High School’s softball team split with Brewster last week to finish fifth in the Caribou Trail League.
     The Pioneers won the opener 5-1 before falling 10-7 in the nightcap in games played at Omak.
     Omak opens district play against Brewster. The game tentatively is planned for 6 p.m. Thursday, May 8, at Cashmere. The game might be moved to an earlier time closer to home, said coach Steve Springer.
     The Pioneers used sharp pitching and fielding to win the opener.
     Following a barbecue between games - a tradition started by Omak and now emulated by other league teams - Brewster came back for a 10-7 win.
     In the first game, Morgan Kerr’s curve ball was biting as she struck out five, walked four and allowed only six hits.
     “Her pitch count was down, she had good location and control,” said coach Steve Springer.
     Behind her, Omak did not commit an error.
     “It was a pretty solid game for us,” said the coach.
     The Pioneers got on the board in the first inning when Brooke Springer led off by being hit by a pitch, stealing second and third and scoring on a fielder’s choice.
     Brewster closed the margin to 2-1 in the top of the third on two hits only to watch Omak score once in the bottom of the inning and two more in the fourth.
     Hitting: Brooke Springer 1-3, run, 3 SB; Tiffany Isaac 2-4, run, 3 RBI, double; Morgan Kerr 2-3, run, double, RBI; Hannah Thomason 1-2, double; Krista Olson 2-2, run, RBI; Tarah Sims 1-1, run.
     In the second game Kerr opened the game unable to locate the strike zone. She threw 45 pitches in the first inning as Brewster scored four times on two hits, three walks and a couple Omak errors.
     Omak responded with three runs in the bottom of the first only to fall back 8-3 after four innings.
     Coach Springer relieved a tiring Kerr (eight runs, five hits, one strikeout and five walks) for Krista Olson (two runs, one hit, two strikeouts, four walks), who got a final strikeout to get out of the fourth. She put Brewster down 1-2-3 in the fifth.
     Brooke Springer got Omak a run early with a double she stretched to a triple after an outfielder bobbled the ball. A throw to third was high and Springer, the fastest girl on the team (2.97 seconds from home to first), zipped home to score.
     Omak closed the gap to 8-5 keyed by a Ramsi Marchand triple before Brewster scored two more runs in the final two innings.
     A final jab for the lead came in the seventh with Marchand blasting a shot over the centerfield fence for two runs.
     Omak outhit Brewster 7-6 but committed four untimely errors and walked nine, said coach Springer.
     The coach thanked the many parents who made the barbecues possible between home doubleheaders.
     “We started a tradition that’s rubbed off on everybody,” said the coach. “It’s good sportsmanship, fun to do.”
     Hitting: Brooke Springer 1-2, 2 runs, 3 SB, triple, RBI; Tiffany Isaac 1-3, 2 runs, 2 SB; Ramsi Marchand 2-4, 2 runs, 3 RBI, triple, home run; Morgan Kerr 2-4, run, 2 RBI, home run; Hannah Thomason 1-3.