Wood Softball Shuts Down Warriors, 4-1

Posted: April 17, 2015
By ALLEN BRIDGE
Special to The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — In a battle between two of the top softball teams in the Northwestern District, James Wood used a three-run sixth inning and a dominant pitching performance from freshman Lauren King to secure a 4-1 win and first place in the district.

James Wood coach Todd Baker and his fairly young Colonels figured to be in for a tough test against Sherando’s veteran hitters, but King was masterful in striking out nine batters in game that was originally slated to be played at Sherando Park but was moved to James Wood because of unplayable field conditions.

“The team played great. We sent a freshman [King] to the mound and after seeing the stats of the area’s hitters, we knew we were in for a fight,” said Baker, whose team was considered the road team Thursday. “For a freshman to shut a team down like that, Lauren did a great job for us today.”

With the score tied 1-1 heading to the top of the sixth, King (2 for 2 with an RBI) drew a walk to start the frame. After two outs and another walk, third baseman Alyssa Brown hit a double to right for her first hit of the game to score King and give the Colonels the lead.

James Wood (7-2, 3-1 Northwestern District) then added two more runs on center fielder Kenzie Garrett’s two-RBI double down the left-field line off of Warrior starting pitcher Hannah Lockhart.

“It was a great overall effort from our team today,” Baker said. “I was shocked that we were able to keep Sherando in check for the most part. I knew we would score some runs but I thought they would score some too but we played good defense and received a total team effort.”

The Warriors (3-4, 2-1 Northwestern District) had a chance to score some runs and possibly tie the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. Third baseman Lexi Schlag got things going for the Warriors with a single before the next two Warrior batters reached on errors to load the bases with only one out.

With the pressure on, King delivered, getting second baseman Madison Clark to ground into a fielder’s choice to get the runner on third out at home, and King then got her seventh strikeout of the day to end the inning.

“We work on situational hitting all the time,” said Sherando coach Clarence Smith. “I think the girls understood the situation and wanted to pull through but there’s a defense there and a girl at the mound trying to stop us and she consistently won tonight and shut us down.”

The Warriors had another chance to get a two-out rally going in the bottom of the seventh after catcher Katie Manson hit a single, bringing first baseman Heidi Brown to the plate.

With the count 2-2, King was able to get Brown swinging to seal the victory for the Colonels.

“I felt really confident at the mound today and was able to pitch well all game,” King said. “I wasn’t getting myself nervous facing a team with hitting like Sherando. I knew if I hit my spots I would be able to get some strikeouts.”

The Colonels got the scoring started in the fourth inning. Left fielder Taylor Rizzari drew a walk and advanced to second on a groundout to bring up King. King hit a single down the left-field line to bring Rizarri all the way around from second, as she slid in safely to make it 1-0.

Sherando responded in the bottom half of the inning. Schlag (2 for 3, one run) hit a double down the left-field line to start the inning for the Warriors. With one out, short stop Sara Stickman hit a double to right, scoring Schlag to tie the game up at one run apiece until the pivotal sixth inning.

“We didn’t play our game today,” Smith said. “It’s not so much a testament to what we didn’t do but more so a testament to what James Wood had going tonight. They pretty much shut down every facet of our game, so a tip of the hat to them.”

Thursday’s game did not count toward the Conference 21 standings. The clash on May 5 will.