Whether bats weren’t hitting, or gloves weren’t fielding, the Eastside Catholic fastpitch team struggled to find consistency the first few weeks of the season.

That certainly hasn’t been the case for the Crusaders of late.

“We’re finally starting to come together offensively and defensively,” head coach Angela Napier said. “We’ve been working really hard on that. The girls are just being very confident up there and being selective and I think they’re having fun.”

Eastside Catholic won its sixth consecutive league game Monday, routing Nathan Hale 15-0 at Marymoor Park in Redmond. Over their streak, the Crusaders have outscored opponents 80-20, including three shutouts.

Monday’s five-inning victory started with solid defense around the infield, including snuffing out a bunt attempt by the leadoff hitter, then stopping a hard-hit ball to short for an out. Nathan Hale followed with an infield hit and a single, before pitcher Ronnie Mae Ayers ended the inning with a strikeout.

Ayers quickly struck at the plate in the bottom of the first. With two outs, the Boston College-bound senior took a pitch over the left centerfield fence for her first home run of the season.

“I actually thought I was going to pop out, but then it just went over so it was pretty sweet,” Ayers said. “I finally got one over.”

Eastside rolled from there.

The Crusaders erupted for 14 runs in the bottom of the second inning, getting 13 runs with two outs. Alex Johnson drove in Caitlin Courshan on a sacrifice fly, resulting in a 2-0 lead and the second out of the inning. The Crusaders followed with 10 hits, a walk, and one batter reached on an error. In all, 18 Eastside Catholic batters went to the plate in the inning.

Ayers finished the game 3-for-3 at the plate with two RBI. Courtney Brown was 2-for-4 with a three-run double and Shannon Deccio was 2-for-2 with three RBI.

In her complete five innings, Ayers allowed three hits, walked one and struck out four batters. She said she can easily get used to pitching with the large leads the Crusader offense has provided of late.

“It allows us to have fun out there,” Ayers said. “The stress is all relieved and we can just have fun as a team out there.”

Eastside, which started the season 3-4, improved to 7-4 in league and 9-4 overall with the victory. They are scheduled to face Blanchet on Tuesday, Seattle Prep on Wednesday and Seattle Prep again on Friday.

“We’ve got a tough week though,” Napier said. “We’re not going to be taking anybody for granted, we’re not going to be complacent. We’re just going to go out there and work really hard.”

Eastlake rallies to beat Lake Washington

Eastlake built an early deficit Monday, but rallied for a 7-4 over Lake Washington.

The Wolves trailed 3-0 after the first inning before tying the score in the bottom of the second. They pushed across another run in the third and two in the fifth and never trailed again.

Kathryne Staudinger had a three-run triple for Eastlake, while Lindsi Augenstein, Kelley Cote, Morgan Conover and Nicole Guptil all had RBI hits for the Wolves.

Eastlake improved to 5-3 in league and 8-4 overall with the win.

Issaquah blasts Bothell

Issaquah scored four runs in the third and four more in the sixth Monday to beat Bothell a 10-4.

Heather Benjamin led the Eagles at the plate, going 2-for-4 with four RBI. Christian McKone was 2-for-3.

Mikenzie Voves earned the victory, while Brielle Bray picked up the save.

Issaquah moved to 4-5 in league and 6-6 overall with the win.

Skyline drops second straight

Skyline carried a lead into the fifth inning before falling 8-4 to Inglemoor Monday at SHS.

The Spartans led 1-0, before the Viking erupted for seven runs in the top of the fifth.

Lauren Wolfe was 1-for-4 with two RBI and Elizabeth Stromquist was 2-for-2 with an RBI for Skyline.

The Spartans, who lost their second straight game, dropped to 5-4 in league and 8-5 overall.