Wood knocks off Warriors in softball opener

March 21, 2012
By Greg Brill
Special to The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER- James Wood senior shortstop Morgan Sykes could hardly curb her enthusiasm.

And who would blame her?

After she knocked in what would turn out to be the winning runs with her two-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning Tuesday night to lead the Colonels to a 5-3 win over Sherando in their Northwestern District opener, Sykes was so excited that she thanked everyone this side of the groundskeeper.

"I am so proud of my team," Sykes said. "We've always had a rivalry [with Sherando]. They lost a lot of players, but they definitely have a new group that's very good.

"They're definitely tough and we can't take them lightly. But I'm proud at how we came out here and showed that you can't take us lightly either."

James Wood coach Ted McDaniel was equally pleased to see his team pull things out after a couple of close losses last season to Sherando. "The seniors have never beaten Sherando [before], so for them, it's really, really sweet," McDaniel said. "Every time we play them this year - I guarantee you - it's going to be a dogfight."

In a back-and-forth game that saw three lead changes and two ties, James Wood (1-2, 1-0 district) had to overcome a little late-game adversity when junior second baseman Anna Stevens injured her right knee while covering first on a line-out double play hit by the Warriors in the top of the sixth.

Stevens had to be carried from the field and McDaniel said afterward that he did not know the full extent of Stevens' injury, although he said several players in the dugout had heard a "pop" when the play occurred.

When the Colonels came to bat in the bottom half of the sixth with the score tied at 3, they were ready to rally back to take the lead.

The bottom half of the lineup got it rolling, with No. 7 hitter Amanda Higgins ripping a single to left on the first pitch she saw, followed by a full-count walk to Laura Gates.

A ground out moved the runners into scoring position, bringing Sykes to the plate.

Already 0 for 3, Sykes earlier had hit a foul pop-out during a second inning in which James Wood would go on to leave the bases loaded.

This time, Sykes was ready. Sykes drove Courtney Reid's first pitch to the alley in right-center to drive in both Higgins and Gates for a two-run lead.

"I saw when she went up there that she had a determined look on her face and that she was going to hit it hard somewhere," McDaniel said of Sykes, who set a school single-season record in 2011 with her .485 batting average. "She found a gap out there and put it in the right spot."

A single by Kierstyn Peacoe (2 for 4, double, run scored) kept the rally alive before Reid ended the inning by retiring two straight batters.

In the top of the seventh, Peacoe finished up an outstanding performance in the circle by retiring the Warriors (2-2, 0-1) in order.

Coming off a sub-par performance in a loss to Clarke County on Saturday, Peacoe pitched with confidence after Sherando touched her for two runs in the third and another in the fourth.

"I was pumped up," Peacoe said. "I have a great team to back me up. I can count on my defense and I know I can count on my offense to pick me up."

To pick up her first win of the season, Peacoe retired 10 of the last 12 batters she faced and faced the minimum over the last three innings.

The sophomore finished with 13 strikeouts (she fanned seven of the first eight batters she faced) and allowed just six hits, two walks, and one earned run.

"She pitched well," McDaniel said. "She didn't do so well on Saturday and she was a little upset with herself. But she bounced right back, and I knew she could do it all.

"When she's pitching well, we play with a lot of confidence."

James Wood got out to a 1-0 lead in the second when Gates drove in Whitney Dick with a single.

A throwing error by Peacoe opened the door to a two-run third by the Warriors.

A bloop double to right by Michaela Carper (2 for 4, run scored), a safety squeeze for an RBI single by Carly Nixon, and a sacrifice fly by Kennedy Rothemich gave Sherando a 2-1 lead.

The Colonels struck back to score once in the third to tie it on a run-scoring single by Dick (2 for 3, RBI, run scored) before the Warriors moved back ahead 3-2 in the fourth when Katie Seymour (2 for 2, walk) drew a walk from Peacoe and eventually came around on a single by Carper.

The Warriors would leave the bases loaded in the fourth and did not mount a serious threat again against Peacoe.

"We're a young team and as soon as we got [ahead for the last time], I think we sort of had the mentality that it was going to be enough," Sherando first-year coach Clarence Smith said. "We got complacent, and we didn't have some good at-bats. We missed some opportunities to execute on certain plays that were there and it came back to bite us."

James Wood tied the game at 3 in the fifth when Peacoe reached on a two-base error and scored on a ground out by Stevens.

Seymour had a leadoff single in the sixth, but she was erased when Haley Miles hit a soft pop on her bunt that Peacoe snagged and gunned to first to get the double play.

Smith credited Peacoe for her heads-up play.

"You've got to give it to Kierstyn - she caught the ball out of the circle and made a very athletic play and doubled us up," Smith said.

Reid went the distance to take the loss, allowing 10 hits, five runs (four earned), walked two and struck out four.

James Wood hosts Clarke County today (at 6 p.m.), and Sherando travels to face Washington (W.Va.) at 4.