April 9, 2026

Written by Lana Carlone

RIVERSIDE:  The battle between the Wolves and the Norco High Cougars lived up to the hype on Wednesday afternoon. The Wolves’ hard fought effort to come back from a four-run deficit in the sixth inning came up just short as King fell to Norco by a score of 4-3.

Kenzie Carlone took the loss for King. Carlone pitched 3.2 innings, surrendering three runs (one earned) on five hits while striking out three. Ryder Bishop came on in relief throwing the final two frames giving up one run while scattering four hits. Despite King’s slow start at the plate, they put a rally together in sixth with Addison Christensen leading the charge. Christensen finished 2-4 on the day with a double and a triple. Brooke Lebsock added a double of her own that brought in two runs and Janai Davis and Lynnette Vu each had a single as well.

We felt really prepared for this matchup. We know Norco pretty well and they know us. We knew it would come down to playing clean softball and keeping the ball in the yard defensively, and attacking pitches early in the count at the plate. Defensively we had a couple of miscues and a couple calls that didn’t go our way, but we kept battling.

Our pitchers did their jobs, limiting their lineup to a string of singles but we also know we would like to have a little more success against hitters when we have two-strike counts.  Offensively, Addison continues to be a force in the leadoff spot. Janai, Brooke and Lynnette contributed some hits of their own. We were really proud of the grit, the zero quit effort by our squad until the final out and their composure throughout the game.

We have eight league games left and they all matter. We are eager to learn from this loss and keep moving in the right direction. Next up, the Wolves travel to Santiago on Friday.