Mariah Warnock put on a home run derby.

The Joseph High School senior blasted two long balls last week, as her softball team won three of four games. The Cubs finished the weekend atop their league. Their overall record improved to 5-2.

“We all started hitting really good and we had good defense,” Warnock said.

The first pitch Warnock saw April 1, with senior Summer De Spain on base, she belted over the left field fence in Athena. Ahead 2-0, the Cubs wound up defeating the defending state champions from Irrigon by a score of 11-10. While the batting lineup scored plenty of runs, outfielders supported sophomore pitcher Whitney Schaefer. Senior centerfielder Josey Kohlhepp and junior leftfielder DaLynn Roberts each snagged deep drives. Junior rightfielder Hannah Graham threw out a runner at second base.

Winning right away set the tone for a busy weekend. Later that afternoon, Enterprise-Joseph played a nailbiter against Weston-McEwen. Starting in the second inning, the Cubs nursed a 2-1 lead. It remained until the last inning, when the TigerScots scored twice and stole the decision.

But two days later at Union, the Cubs swept a doubleheader. It began with Kohlhepp batting home junior DaLynn Roberts in the extra inning for the winning run, 2-1. The Cubs had managed their first run in the top of the seventh, when De Spain tied the score at 1-1. Then the Bobcats tried to finish the game in the bottom half of the winning, but a relay throw from Roberts to Schaefer to De Spain beat Jessy Reynolds at the plate and forced overtime. The Cubs followed that by pounding the Bobcats, 14-2. Warnock hit her second home run.

Combining all four games, almost every girl on the Cubs’ roster scored a run over the weekend. De Spain and senior Bailee Reimer led the team with six, each. Kohlhepp and Schaefer each crossed home plate four times, both Warnock and Roberts three. The offense also took contributions from sophomore Shelby Graning, sophomore Katie Edison, freshman Elsa Steen and freshman Myranda McFetridge.

Meanwhile, Edison and Schaefer shared the pitching circle. Edison worked 16 innings and struck out 11 batters. Schaefer totaled 13 innings and 12 strikeouts.

The varsity will return to action April 10, when Cubs host Elgin-Imbler for a doubleheader at Jensen Field in Enterprise.