Wolverines Ace Silences Colonels

Posted: May 26, 2016
By JOSH DORSEY
Special to The Winchester Star

PURCELLVILLE — No opponent has had much luck hitting against Woodgrove ace Camryn Dolby.

James Wood was no exception.

Dolby tossed a two-hitter and struck out 16 Colonels as the top-seeded Wolverines rolled to a 7-0 victory in the Conference 21 West softball championship on Wednesday.

Both the Wolverines (18-1) and the Colonels (15-6) had already earned spots in the 4A West Regionals, which begin play Friday.

James Wood fell behind two runs early, but was still within striking distance until the Wolverines pulled away with five runs in their final two at-bats.

"If we make a few plays and get a few bunts down I think it’s a two-run game," said James Wood coach Todd Baker. "We gave them a lot of extra outs and were unable to move baserunners when we had the opportunities. We pitched very well, as we always do and played pretty solid defense other than the few extra outs we gave. I’m proud of the girls. This is a tough team to match up with."

Woodgrove scored twice in the first. After back-to-back singles by Emily Alexander and Lexi Acton, Hallie Daughtry smacked an RBI single. Alexa Dolby followed with a sacrifice fly to give her sister a 2-0 lead.

James Wood threatened in the fourth. Lindsey Anderson walked and Lani Spielman singled. Camryn Dolby quickly smothered the threat by forcing a pop out and whiffing two hitters.

"I put a lot more focus into my next couple of pitches," said Dolby, who as a sophomore is already verbally committed to Boston College. "I didn’t want them to score. I was definitely more excited and pumped up for this game against a tough team. I knew every pitch I had to give my best."

After a rough first frame, Lauren King held the Wolverines scoreless until the fifth. With two outs, Acton scored on a wild pitch. Camryn Dolby earned herself a bigger lead with a two-run double off the center-field wall.

Woodgrove scored two more in the sixth inning on a Hallie Daughtry RBI double that came after a Colonels’ error.

"Lauren was probably as good as I’ve ever seen her actually," Baker said. "In the sixth inning she threw two pitches and got two outs then we boot a ground ball, she’s got to throw some extra pitches and we end up giving up two runs."

Dolby made sure her fielders had an easy night with 16 of the 21 outs coming on strikeouts. She walked three.

"It’s a little nerve-wracking because most of the season we see like rec-ball pitching and then we see someone like Camryn who is committed to a D-1 school and it’s a lot different," King said.

Wood will look to regroup for regional action.

"We will do like we’ve done all year," Baker said. "We practice hard and we try to get better every day. We’ll go back to some details that we missed in this game and just try to be better when we play against because it’s going to take a better effort."