NWD softball: Hawks rally past Colonels

May 23, 2011

By David Selig       

WINCHESTER- The James Wood softball team committed five errors in the first four innings of Saturday's Northwestern District semifinal against Skyline. But with freshman pitcher Kierstyn Peacoe consistently squirming out of trouble, the Colonels still led 3-1 at that point.

They weren't as fortunate after committing four more errors in the ninth inning.

No. 3-seeded Skyline scored three unearned runs in the top of the ninth, ending the No. 2 Colonels' storybook season with a 6-3 win at Millbrook High School.

The Hawks (10-9) advance to Tuesday night's district final against regular-season champion Sherando, and they've also clinched a berth to the Region II tournament for the second straight year.

To do that, Skyline had to erase a three-run deficit that the Colonels (13-6) built after three innings.

"It's a heartbreaker. There's no other way you can describe it," said James Wood coach Ted McDaniel, whose team had only won six games combined over the previous two seasons. "We got up 3-0 and we thought we had it, but we just couldn't put them away." Peacoe (11-4) struck out 11 and allowed just two earned runs. She forced Skyline to strand nine runners on base, including seven in scoring position.

But the heartbreak set in when the Hawks came to bat in the top of the ninth. Three of the first four hitters reached on errors, and by the time Peacoe struck out Ashley Thomas to leave runners on second and third, Skyline had itself a three-run cushion.

James Wood committed nine errors for the game after McDaniel said the team had just 20 all season heading into Saturday.

The ninth inning was the obvious point where the game got away from the Colonels, but McDaniel said he felt it was really lost when Wood failed to put a fourth run on the board.

Much of that, though, could be attributed to Skyline pitcher Sarah Beamer, who retired 13 straight hitters before Charlotte Viands reached on an error in the bottom of the ninth.

"[Beamer] pitched against this team last week and struck out 12 and only gave up one hit," said Skyline coach Michael Bukva, whose team split with Wood in the regular season and finished with the same 5-3 district record. "So she had some experience and she knew she could come back. I told her, 'We'll get you some runs. You just worry about pitching.' And she did."

The sophomore struck out 11, including two in the ninth, and only allowed five hits.

"She changed speeds up and mixed her pitches and hit her spots," McDaniel said. "As good as she is, when she does that, she's extremely difficult to hit."

The Colonels got to Beamer for a run in the bottom of the second when Rachael Largent hustled home from second on a two-out single by Amanda Higgins.

Viands made it 3-0 with a two-run double over the center fielder's head in the bottom of the third.

After that, James Wood only had one more hit for the rest of the game.

Skyline scored a run in the fourth and another in the fifth. The Hawks pulled even in the sixth when Heather Pomeroy (2 for 3) singled, her pinch-runner Thomas stole second and third, and Mandy Poe plated her with a squeeze bunt.

The teams then traded zeroes until the ninth.

A look of disappointment was clear on several of the Colonels' faces when they left the field for the final time this season.

But McDaniel was so proud that he vowed to continue building with a team that loses just three seniors.

"I couldn't be happier with them. They're a great group, and they're a coach's dream," he said. "I told them out there, I really wasn't sure if I was going to come back next year or not. This is my 11th year. But after the way this team played, and the heart and character they displayed, I'm coming back again. I'm just so proud of them."

- Contact David Selig at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.