Rauskin deals another gem for Bulldogs

It might be time to attach the nickname “Big Game” in front of Centennial pitcher Kate Rauskin’s name.

Exactly a week after collecting the Bulldogs’ first win in nearly three years against archrival Palo Verde, Rauskin provided her second top-notch effort in as many Fridays.

And for the second straight week, the junior stymied a strong-hitting lineup.

Rauskin tossed a four-hitter, helping the Bulldogs top host Arbor View 5-2 and keeping Centennial alive in the race for the Northwest League title.

“She’s definitely a big-game pitcher,” said Centennial coach Mike Livreri, whose team pulled back into a tie with Arbor View for first in the Northwest. “She has shown a lot the last two weeks. A lot of heart, a lot of competitive juices in her.”

Rauskin, who led the Bulldogs (19-7, 8-2) to a 9-3 win over third-place Palo Verde last week, was even better Friday, fooling an Aggie team that entered the game with six .500 hitters in its starting lineup.

Arbor View (16-3, 8-2) didn’t get a runner to second base until the fifth inning.

Rauskin, who missed two weeks earlier this year with tendinitis in her pitching arm, struck out seven and got 12 more outs in the air — and did it while pitching with the lingering effects of the flu.

“I just dig deep and I do it for my team,” she said. “I just try to work hard.”

Arbor View threatened in only two innings, scoring on a two-out single by Karli Lehr and putting the tying run on base in the fifth, and having the tying run on third in the sixth.

Each time, Rauskin induced a lineout right at a Centennial infielder to end the threat.

Her Bulldog teammates gave her just enough run support.

Centennial scored three runs with two outs in the third inning, cashing in on an RBI double by Mia Acuna and a two-run triple by Savannah Horvath.

Acuna and Horvath each went 2-for-3 for Centennial.

The Aggies, who beat Centennial in the teams’ first meeting, cut the deficit to 3-2 in the sixth before the Bulldogs took advantage of two errors to tack on two runs in the seventh.

Rauskin struck out two in the seventh, completing a 111-pitch effort in style.

She and Taylor Huntly basically platoon as Centennial’s pitching tandem.

“It was just the way the rotation fell,” Livreri said of Rauskin’s last two starts. “Taylor pitched against Arbor last time. We wanted to see what Kate could do. She’s been hot.”

Lehr had three hits for Arbor View, which would have taken control of the Northwest with a win. The Aggies would have owned a two-game lead and the tiebreaker over both Centennial and Palo Verde with six games remaining.

“There was an extra focus from everybody,” Rauskin said. “We knew we had to have this.”