WINCHESTER — James Wood coach Patrick Gibson has been around the high school’s softball program 16 years and he can’t recall what happened Thursday at Ridge Field.
Thanks to Mother Nature, the Colonels and longtime rival Sherando squared off to open their respective seasons.
Showcasing home-run power, flawless defense, clutch late hitting and outstanding pitching from Lily Wray, the Warriors prevailed in the opener, knocking off James Wood 6-2.
Mady Cox blasted one of three solo homers by Sherando and delivered a huge two-run double in the top of the seventh to back Wray’s stellar five-hitter.
“When you play a team like James Wood and many others, you’ve go to play error-free ball,” said Sherando coach Mark Conner, whose team was outside for only the fourth time due to the rough weather. “We put hits together when we needed it and Lily pitched a really great game tonight.
“It’s always a battle with James Wood,” Conner added. “This might might be a first in the history of the James Wood-Sherando rivalry to lead the season off.”
Wray blanked a potent Colonels lineup over the final four innings to notch the victory. She retired 12 consecutive batters at one point and struck out six without a walk. James Wood’s Brynnen Williams — who had a hit in every game but one last year en route to earning Winchester Star Player of the Year honors — was 0 for 3.
“I’m going to give it to Lily Wray,” Gibson said. “She’s a senior and that’s a tough kid right out of the gate to face her. We have to take that into consideration because she pitched a gem, but we also have to be a little better with our plate discipline.”
Wray, who stressed the importance of every game, said she enjoyed facing a key matchup to kick off the spring.
“I like starting with a game that counts,” Wray said. “… It’s just really going to push us ahead through the season. It’s a good start.”
Sherando never trailed in the contest, which started with fireworks and was close throughout. On the third pitch of the game, Warriors leadoff hitter Sophia Zimmerman turned on an inside offering from Sophia Gerald and launched a towering homer over the left-field fence.
In the bottom of the inning, the Colonels tied it up at 1-1. In her first-ever varsity at-bat, Taylor Fishel smacked a Wray pitch that soared over the fence in deep left-center.
“That’s why we put her in the three hole because we know what she’s capable of,” Gibson said. “She’s a dynamic player.”
The Warriors continued the solo homer blitz in the next two innings. Elle Shutts, the only lefty in the Sherando lineup, led off the second with a drive over the right-field fence. An inning later, Cox cleared the fence in center to give the Warriors a 3-1 lead.
The Colonels crawled back to within one in the bottom of the third. No. 9 hitter Sophia Rohrbach lined a double to left to lead off the frame. An out later, courtesy runner Reece Madagan advanced to third on a bunt and scored as Fishel legged out an infield hit on a dribbler to third base.
From there, both pitchers settled in and neither team scored over the next three innings.
Wray benefited from a spectacular play from the center fielder Cox in the fifth. Rohrbach, also making her varsity debut, lined a shot to the left-center gap, but Cox made a leaping, tumbling grab to save at least a double.
“I knew it was coming our way,” said Cox, noting how hard Rohrbach was hitting even foul balls in each plate appearance. “I backed up a few and I was clearing my head. My head was just clear this entire game.”
Wray said her success to close the game stemmed from those kind of plays.
“It was real easy to trust the defense as it went on, obviously,” Wray said. “They made like nine million really good plays. That was really cool to just pitch and play.”
The Warriors got three huge insurance runs in the seventh to take some of the pressure off of Wray. With one out, Abby Rinker walked and moved to second on a groundout. Pinch-runner Olivia Nettles moved to third on Zimmerman’s infield single, her third hit of the game. After the speedy Zimmerman swiped second, Cox crushed a 2-0 pitch into the right-center gap for a two-run double. Cox then showed some moxie by scoring from second on Makayla Williams’ infield single, barely beating the throw home from first base.
“I just knew what I had to do,” Cox said of her final at-bat. “I just went up to the box and I was like, ‘Good or bad, it’s going to be OK tomorrow.’ I just cleared my head and I knew what I had to do — get those girls home. I just swung and it worked out for me.”
Gerald’s two-out single in the seventh (her second hit) snapped Wray’s streak of consecutive outs, but the Sherando pitcher ended the contest in style with a strikeout.
“We were going to see how it was going to go tonight for Lily with the first night out,” Conner said. “I don’t think she threw a lot of pitches and she looked like she was in command throughout. We had some pitchers ready to back her up, but fortunately for us we didn’t need it tonight.”
Gerald, the area’s ERA leader last season, allowed eight hits with five strikeouts and a walk.
“She was good. She kept us in the game,” Gibson said of his junior pitcher. “It was 3-2 in the seventh and we had two outs. We just have got to finish a little better I guess, but she did her job. Sherando can hit. They are a good team.”
Both teams will have little time to dwell upon the result. Sherando has four games scheduled over next four days (at Strasburg on Friday, hosting a doubleheader with Clarke County on Saturday and hosting Kettle Run on Monday). James Wood has games on three consecutive days (at Clarke County on Monday, hosting Liberty on Tuesday and hosting Fauquier on Wednesday).