The Juanita High School softball team began defense of its 2009 3A KingCo title Tuesday with a 9-3 victory against Bothell.

The Rebels pounded the ball, scoring in every inning except the sixth and collecting nine hits along the way.

Rachel O’Neill went 2-for-2 with three RBI, a double and a home run, while Rebel teammates Lexy Faist and Aliah Sweere collected RBI.

In the circle, Kylie Sparks threw three innings, giving up just one run for Juanita. Allison Rhodes finished the final four innings with six strikeouts for the Rebels.

Juanita had a tough road Thursday against 4A Eastlake, losing 6-5. The Rebels built an early 4-0 lead during the second inning but gave it all back during the bottom of the sixth.

The Wolves would get a run during the sixth inning to take the lead but the Rebels tied the game during the top of the seventh to send the game into extra innings. Eastlake scored the winning run during the bottom of the eighth.

O’Neill, Brooke Rychard and Kaisa Sporseen each collected two hits during the game.

Juanita will travel to Inglemoor today at 4:30 p.m. and host on Lake Washington Monday at 4:30 p.m.