James Wood rallies for softball win over Kettle Run

STEPHENSON — For the James Wood softball team, the start of Friday's Class 4 Northwestern District semifinal game against Kettle Run was far from ideal.

Freshman starting pitcher Cadence Rieg might have been one hit away from being removed from the game in the top of the second inning. And while the offense had seven baserunners though five innings and had hit some balls hard, the Colonels didn't have a hit in that stretch.

By the end of game, the resolve that James Wood displayed was something to marvel at, though.

"I've been here a while," said sixth-year head coach Todd Baker. "This ranks right up there."

Rieg shut out the Cougars for the last five innings and James Wood rallied from a three-run deficit with five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning for a hard-fought 6-4 win at Franklin Field in Stonewall Park.

Sophomore first baseman Izzy McKee's two-out double with runners on second and third drove in two runs in the sixth inning and broke a 4-4 tie. Then Rieg (three earned runs, nine hits, four walks and 12 strikeouts in her 141-pitch complete game) retired the Cougars in order in the seventh to set off a series of high-fives and screams.

With the win, James Wood (10-3) clinched its fifth straight region tournament berth and will travel to take on Fauquier (14-0) at 6 p.m. in Tuesday's district championship game.

For a long time it didn't look like that matchup would take place, but the Colonels always had confidence in themselves against Kettle Run (7-4).

"We usually pull it out at the end," said McKee, who went 1 for 2 and walked in her first two appearances. "We just took more time at-bat, tried to make the innings longer, make the pitcher work a little bit more."

James Wood beat the Cougars 10-5 on May 25, but Wilkerson did not pitch in that game.

McKee drew a walk to start the game, but Kylie Wilkerson retired the next six batters, four by strikeout.

Starting with the third inning, though, James Wood started to look a lot more comfortable at the plate.

Rieg (1 for 2) drew a leadoff walk, but she was doubled off after Ellie Johnson hit a screaming liner right at Kettle Run first baseman Delaney Lail. McKee walked and took second on a wild pitch. She scored when Olivia Miller's well-hit ball was dropped for an error after the center fielder had to run far to her left to try and catch it, making it 4-1 Kettle Run.

Rieg thought the Colonels tired out Wilkerson (119 pitches), who walked four batters and only had two strikeouts in her final four innings. After putting three more runners on over the remainder of the third inning and through the fifth, James Wood exploded in the sixth.

Sadie Kittoe grounded a single up the middle to lead things off and took second on a fielder's choice groundout. Sydney Orndorff lined a single to right to drive in Kittoe and make it 4-2.

Caitlyn Shutts stepped to the plate, and on the seventh pitch she lofted a deep fly ball to left. Kettle Run's left fielder had a hard time reading the flight of the ball as she ran back to try and catch it. After she turned herself completely around the ball bounced off her glove when she reached to her right to try and backhand it. Orndoff scored from first on the double to make it 4-3.

Next, Baker sent Skyla Compton up to the plate to pinch-hit. She grounded a ball up the middle that the shortstop booted for an error, and Shutts came around to score to make it 4-4 to prompt more cheers from the Colonel fans.

Rieg followed with a ground single to left to put runners on first and second. Compton and Rieg moved up a base after Johnson smashed a one-hopper to second and was thrown out at first.

That set the stage for McKee. On the first pitch she saw, the right-handed McKee smashed a ball that landed just inside the third-base bag before continuing into the outfield. Two runs scored as the James Wood fans roared.

"I was looking for the pitch that I could hit that could score the runs," McKee said. "I wasn't thinking about anything else."

McKee said it felt great to deliver in that situation, but she also said her teammates are capable of doing the same thing she did in that moment.

Still, McKee — who ranked third on the Colonels in batting average (.417) and was tied for second on the team in runs (10) and RBIs (10) heading into the final game of the regular season — showed on Friday why she bats leadoff for James Wood.

"She worked herself into that spot," Baker said. "She takes pitches at times. She pretty much always has a good at-bat. Even a bat that doesn't result in a base hit or a walk, it's still a good at-bat. She works pitchers hard."

James Wood's sixth inning gave Rieg the opportunity to close the game out in the seventh, a scenario that didn't seem all that likely after the first two innings.

Kettle Run scored three runs in the first inning on four hits, including a triple by Jillian Brunton (2 for 4), and a walk. In the second, two walks and a hit resulted in a bases-loaded situation with two outs. An error on a grounder to third allowed another run to score and put Kettle Run up 4-0.

Rieg got out the inning by getting Wilkerson to fly out to right. That was a huge at-bat, because a hit in that spot might have forced Baker to turn to another pitcher.

"I didn't want to get down five or six runs," Baker said. "A few times this year we've been so close to making a switch and she just somehow finds another gear and gets it done.

"She didn't have her best stuff. The first few innings, the rise wasn't really working great. She was missing her spots and wasn't really getting the changeup over early. But once she found that rhythm and kind of got zoned in, I knew we had an opportunity to come back."

Pitching in her first high school playoff game, Rieg said nerves played a big role in her early struggles. But once she committed to trusting herself and her teammates, she started to pitch better.

Baker thought Shutts' diving catch in center to start the third inning was a major lift for the team. Rieg struck out the next two batters.

Rieg's biggest two strikeouts came in the top of the sixth. The Cougars had one out and runners on second and third and were threatening to break the game open, but Rieg left Lail (1 for 3 with an RBI) and Kaley Frazier flailing with changeups for strike three.

"[The changeup] was working really well," said Rieg with a laugh.

Given the high-stakes circumstances, Rieg — who allowed only four hits and one walk while striking out nine batters over the last five innings — felt it was the best game she pitched all year. She closed it out in the seventh with a strikeout, a popup and a fly out to right that Johnson ran down near the foul line.

Baker was impressed with the performance of the entire team.

"All year long, we practice the right way," Baker said. "We practice hard, and we practice for games like this. That's a good comeback against a really good team.

"One thing we talk about is 'refuse to lose.' No matter what happens, how far you get down, how things look. It looked bleak early. [Kettle Run] was rolling. But our players never quit. They just refused to lose. [We're] a tough team to handle. I wouldn't want to play us right now."

James Wood will now take on Fauquier, which beat the Colonels 10-5 on May 18 in their only regular-season matchup. Four of James Wood's five runs came in the fifth inning after Falcons star pitcher Meghan Harrington had already left the circle with her team up 10-1 after four innings.

"On the bus ride back from that game, we felt like we left a little something there," Baker said. "We didn't really play our game. I think we have a pretty good shot."

Also for Kettle Run, Emory Shorts went 2 for 4 with an RBI and Abby Boldt scored two runs.

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