A big fourth inning powered the Tahoma fastpitch team to its first win over Kentlake in the program’s history.

The Bears won 5-2 after a four-run outburst in the bottom of the fourth inning.

With the score tied 1-1, junior Sammii Jimenez started off the hitting in the fourth, ripping a double down the third base line on the first pitch.

Jimenez, who also pitched a complete game for Tahoma, said her thought when she got on base was, “Score, then score some more.”

And score she did.

Sophmore Jordan Walley smacked a long single, driving in Jimenez to make the score 2-1, helping Tahoma take the lead for good.

Senior co-captain Kaila Wilkinson moved Alex Clyatt, who was running for Walley, to third base with a single down the third base line.

Then Katie Jo Myers, senior co-captain, drove Clyatt in on an 0-2 pitch.

Finally, Hayley Beckstrom hit a two run double, driving in Emily Miller and Courtney Visaya, pushing the lead to 5-1.

Kentlake tried to mount a comeback in the top of the seventh when Erin Crowley scored from third base on a sacrifice grounder by Erika Smyth. Crowley had reached third on a triple she drove to outfield fence.

But, that was all the Falcons would get as their next batter, Jessie Richardson lined out to third baseman Kiley Dunn, who made an athletic backhanded catch, to end the game.

It was a big win for the Bears, who have raced out to a 6-1 record overall and are 3-0 in the South Puget Sound League North, and coming the day after beating Auburn Riverside for the first time under Milligan, too.

“Tom does a great job and has a talented team,” said Kentlake Coach Greg Kass in an e-mail. “It’s the first time in 14 years of Kentlake fastpitch we’ve lost to Tahoma.”

This is the first loss of the season for Kentlake, which is 5-1 overall and 1-1 in league.

Kentlake has another tough match up on Friday against Kentridge.

Meanwhile, for Jimenez, she gave up 10 hits, one earned run and struck out three.

“It’s a good start,” she said. “We don’t want to let up. We’ve just got to keep playing our game. We’ve got to stay level headed.”

Jimenez said they key to Tahoma’s early season success is “our chemistry is really starting to mesh together well.”

But Jimenez knows the Bears can’t rest on their laurels and they need to “just stay focused.”

“Forget all about this week and focus on next week,” she said. “Just take it one game at a time.”

Probably a good thought since Tahoma hosts Kentridge on Monday and Kentwood on Tuesday with those games being individual battles in the war for the top spot in the SPSL North this season.