Musselman Softball Defeats Colonels, 13-3

Posted: March 26, 2015
By MARK SAWYER
Special to The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — After three straight wins to start the season, including an impressive Conference 21 road victory over always-tough Loudoun County Tuesday night, the James Wood High School softball team returned home for a what it knew was going to be its toughest test of the young season.

In an early season matchup of unbeaten teams, the Colonels returned home to host Musselman, W.Va., which hasn’t lost since the West Virginia Class AAA State Championship game last season.

Unfortunately for the Colonels, the test showed that Musselman has a pretty good team once again this season.

Musselman’s first five hitters of the game all reached base and scored, setting the table for a 10-run first inning that vaulted the Lady Applemen to a 13-3 non-district victory at James Wood High School. The game was called after five innings because of the 10-run rule.

“We needed it. We just needed to be able to come out and hit the ball,” said Musselman coach Shannon DeMasi. “Solid hits, line drives, things that get in the hole. Make us get a little bit more confident in ourselves at the plate.

“There’s always room for improvement, we’re not satisfied. We’ll just go in days we don’t have games and practice and make ourselves better. We just take it one day at time.”

Musselman (3-0) got off the bus swinging the bats and it got things going early. Each of their first four hitters — Taylor Stocks, Haley Fisher, Kelsey Jenkins, and Sabrina Shrodes — singled to lead off the game with Stocks and Fisher scoring on Shrodes’ hit to make it 2-0.

Brittany Ingram followed with a walk, and one out later, Emma Hull reached on a error driving in one run and another scored when the ball got away at first base, making it 4-0.

Following another out, Brittany Demarco and Stocks both walked to load the bases, and Fisher followed with a two-run single. Later in the inning, the Lady Applemen scored two more runs on a Colonels’ error and an RBI by Shrodes for the early 10-run lead.

Musselman outhit the Colonels 11-5 with all 11 hits coming from the top four hitters in the lineup. Stocks was one of three Applemen with three hits. She also drove in a run and scored four times. In addition to her offense, Stocks picked up the win in the circle, working all seven innings and allowing three runs (all unearned) on five hits while striking out 10 and walking three.

“I feel like I have big shoes to fill to get us back to states, trying to better myself,” Stocks said. “I think I should always throw my hardest and try my hardest no matter what [the score is], never let down.

“I think we have a really good team this year and I think we have a lot of potential.”

The Applemen added a run in the third to extend the lead to 11. Stocks led off with a single and moved to second on an error. One out later, Jenkins ripped a run-scoring single to right.

James Wood (3-1) scored a pair of runs in the third to trim the lead a bit. With one out, Taylor Woolsey singled, Alyssa Brown reached on an error, and Courteney Harper walked.

Woolsey got the Colonels on the board when she scored on a passed ball. It appeared that the next hitter, Lindsay Anderson was going to drive in two more runs with a solid single to right, but an outstanding diving stop by Ingram at second retired Anderson for the second out of the inning. Brown was able to score on the play to make it 11-2.

Musselman put the 10-run rule into effect with a pair of runs in the fifth. With one out, Stocks singled and moved to second on a groundout. Jenkins then shot a double to the fence in left and she scored on an RBI single by Shrodes.

Down 11 with three outs to go, the Colonels didn’t quit. They tried to put together a two-out rally to extend the game. With two outs, Anderson singled and Taylor Rizzari reached on an error. Lani Spielman scored Anderson with a single to right but that was all the Colonels could come up with as Stocks got another strikeout to end the game.

“We gave up 10 in the first. We came out a little flat after a big win last night at Loudoun County,” first-year James Wood coach Todd Baker said. “We pulled it together. We’re going to go to practice tomorrow and work harder. We realize that we’ve got to get better every day and that’s what we strive for all the time.”

“After that it’s a very close game but you’ve got to play them all. They’re a good team, they came off the bus ready to go.”

The first four hitters in the Musselman lineup finished the night a combined 11 for-15 with 11 runs and nine RBIs.

Anderson and Spielman each had two hits and an RBI to lead the way for the Colonels. In addition to Stocks Jenkins and Shrodes also had three hits while Fisher had two. Shrodes had four RBIs and Jenkins and Fisher each had two.