The Lady Vikings methodically took apart the Rainier Christian Lady Mustangs on Thursday at Buck Park, beating Rainier Christian 12-1 in six innings under calm clear skies and with an enthusiastic crowd of Viking supporters looking on.

The Orcas coaching staff’s strategy was clear: use small ball to get the bases loaded and then just force the runners in. It worked. And it wasn’t always bunts putting the Lady Vikings on first, second and third base. The Orcas roster is not weak in the batting department, and Lanie Padbury, Sydney Harris, Alison O’Toole and Brooke Bruland all had their chance to pop the ball into the Lady Mustangs’ weak spots. By the third inning, the Lady Vikings were running home one after the other and by the fourth inning there was no reason to slide into home base. The Lady Vikings clearly had the upper hand and had done so with their intense focus and the coaches’ combined strategies.

“Overall, our team is hitting a really nice rhythm at an important time in the season,” Coach Scott Harris said. “I’m very proud of the girls. They look sharp. Every day we work on batting and the relationship between the basemen and the outfielders, throwing in and going over pass plays. They’re just really on the ball and a very focused group of players.”

And the Lady Vikings looked sharp all around. Mackie Taylor showed enormous athleticism at third base as she dove and just missed a ball spun off the bat at the foul line. Adria Garcia, pitcher for the Orcas team, had nine strikeouts and walked only one player in the four innings she pitched.

And the Lady Mustangs weren’t pushovers; they finished second in their league for their season.

“La Conner and Orcas are the two strongest teams in the league currently, and that’s our next opponent,” Harris said.

La Conner and Orcas have been pitted against one another all season, with Orcas leading the winning games between them two wins to La Conner’s one win out of the three games played between the two teams.

Accordingly, La Conner and Orcas play against one another for the tri-district championship on Saturday, May 23 at a neutral field in Stanwood at 2:00 p.m.