WINCHESTER — After a hot start, Millbrook softball hung on to defeat James Wood on the road on Tuesday.
Thanks to the early-game efforts of Emma Martin, the Pioneers led 10-0 after the top of the third inning and defeated the Colonels 10-8, improving to 12-5. James Wood fell to 14-3 after previously defeating Millbrook 3-1 on April 10.
Martin wasted no time, hitting a first-inning grand slam to make it 4-0. Her big swing came after Rowan McCullough reached on an error at third base on a leadoff grounder. Jordyn Ganse and Kaylen Giza then hit singles to load the bases, setting up Martin’s moonshot over the center-field wall.
Martin said she’s been working with assistant coach Katie Tirona on keeping her hands up at the plate and that she was able to do that on her grand slam. She also said she was trying to remain composed and not get ahead of herself with bases loaded.
“I was just in my zone,” Martin said. “I was just breathing. I tried to not think about who was on base or anything. I just wanted to get a base hit.”
Martin extended the lead to 6-0 in the second by hitting the ball out to right field. She wasn’t credited with a hit due to an error by the Colonels’ outfielder, but her contact allowed McCullough and Giza to score once again. Martin reached second on the error and advanced to third on the throw to home.
McCullough reached first on an error in right field, while Giza hit a single, setting up their runs. James Wood was plagued by errors throughout the game, finishing with seven, including four in the first three innings.
Millbrook head coach Carolyn Hartman said the Colonels’ mistakes helped propel the Pioneers.
“Softball is mostly a mental game,” Hartman said. “We found that errors kind of perpetuate more errors. I think that was helping us build our confidence up at the plate, because [James Wood] knew that they had to beat it out no matter if they thought they got the ball or not, or if they didn’t think it was as hard of a hit as it could have been. So [their errors] helped build our confidence up.”
Giza, who batted 3 for 4 with three RBIs and three runs, came through in the third inning with a three-RBI triple to extend the lead to 9-0. After hitting six foul balls across a nine-pitch at-bat, she hit a hard grounder down the first-base line to drive in Amaya Shook, Kiley Eaton and McCullough. Eaton reached on an error, while McCullough got on with a bunt.
Moments later, after Maggie Maynard replaced Colonels’ starter Sophia Gerald in the circle, Lexi Edwards tallied an RBI groundout to drive in Giza, making it 10-0.
Gerald recorded 10 strikeouts during the Colonels’ win over Millbrook in April, but Giza said the Pioneers were more prepared for what she’d throw their way this time. She also said she tried not to overthink at the plate, leading to her impressive night.
“We had more confidence going into this game, and we kind of already knew what Sophia Gerald was going to pitch us,” Giza said. “Even though we knew, we still had to have the mindset of going up there to win, and going up there to have a base hit.
“I try not to think about anything [at the plate] because, if I do, then it doesn’t really go well. So I just try not to think about anything and just let my hands and my mechanics do the work.”
With their backs against the wall, the Colonels responded with a four-run bottom of the third to cut the deficit to six.
After a Sophia Rohrbach single and walks by Brynnen Williams and Taylor Fishel, Kati Brannon hit a two-RBI line drive with two outs to put the Colonels on the board.
Kayleigh Harden then hit a two-RBI double to center field, making it 10-4. This prompted Martin to replace Shook, who started at pitcher. Martin recorded the final out of the inning, and she and Maynard each sent their opponent’s order down one-two-three in the fourth before the Colonels continued their rally by scoring three runs in the fifth.
With Williams and Marleigh Dehaven on first and second, Brannon and Harden struck again. Brannon hit a single down the left-field line to drive in Williams before Harden hit a sacrifice fly to score pinch-runner Aubrey Nail. Brannon then stole home during Molly Maynard’s at-bat, making it 10-7.
James Wood head coach Patrick Gibson praised his team’s efforts to come back, along with the efforts of his No. 4 and No. 5 hitters.
“I was proud of us for showing heart and coming back,” Gibson said. “They showed a lot of grit coming back. We were one swing away from tying the game up. We’ve just got to start better. It was shocking, because we’ve been playing really good defense lately … we didn’t play well at all defensively today.
“[Brannon and Harden] took great at-bats against two really good pitchers, just gritty at-bats, knowing that we needed them to drive those runs in there. And they executed and got us right back in the game.”
With the Colonels in range for a comeback, Maggie Maynard did her part. She pitched the final 3.2 innings, recorded four strikeouts and allowed two hits.
Martin’s statistics weren’t as impressive in relief, but she came through when it mattered most to secure the win for the Pioneers. After holding James Wood scoreless in the sixth, she gave up a solo shot to Fishel in the seventh, making it 10-8.
Moments later, Martin walked Brannon, but didn’t panic. She responded by striking out Harden and inducing a Molly Maynard flyout to end the game.
Martin said keeping her composure was key.
“I just take it one batter at a time, because I know how easy it is for James Wood to come back,” Martin said. “I can’t think ahead, or I’ll get stressed out and it’ll be over.”
After earning wins over Clarke County and James Wood to start the week, Millbrook will continue facing local competition by hosting Sherando at 7 p.m. on Thursday. James Wood will host Warren County at 6 p.m. the same day.
Heading into these games, Gibson said his team can learn from the adversity it faced against the Pioneers, while Hartman said she’s hoping to see her players continue building momentum.
“I’m hoping we take our last couple wins and we continue with it,” Hartman said. “I’m hoping we just continue to keep our energy up and to keep our bats rolling.”
— Contact Joe Tuman at jtuman@winchesterstar.com
Follow him on X @jtuman21