Judd's two-run single in seventh gives James Wood win over Sherando

WINCHESTER — During her softball career, James Wood catcher Aliza Judd has delivered many good games, clutch moments and big hits, but none have been bigger than Friday night.

In a moment that dreams are made of, Judd stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning at Ridge Field with her team trailing rival Sherando 3-2 in a Region 4D semifinal.

Judd provided exactly what the Colonels needed to keep their season alive. The junior hit a soft liner just over the head of Sherando third baseman Kendra Chunta and just inside the left-field line for a two-run single to cap James Wood's 4-3 comeback victory.

The clutch hit sent the Colonels and their fans into a wild celebration and guaranteed they would advance to the Class 4 state tournament for the second consecutive season. James Wood (19-3) will host Jefferson Forest, an 8-3 upset winner over top-seeded Blacksburg, in the Region 4D title game on Tuesday.

"I was just looking for a base hit, a little poke," said the left-handed Judd of her game-winning knock against Sherando reliever Mady Cox. "I wasn't looking to hit anything hard. I was expecting the ball outside half of the plate and I took it the way I wanted to take it for a little poke and a couple of runs. That was all we needed."

The two-run single capped a huge comeback for the Colonels, who trailed 3-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth.

"This is the biggest win by far," Judd said. "Sherando is our rival and we're looking to beat them every time we play them. With this being an elimination game, we needed to win to continue our season so it's definitely the biggest one so far."

James Wood coach Patrick Gibson went a little farther.

"This win is definitely Top 3 [in program history], if not the best," Gibson said. "I'll have to let it settle a little bit before I decide but it's definitely Top 3 win at James Wood."

Sherando ace pitcher Lily Wray, who threw a shutout against Orange County on Wednesday night in the quarterfinals, blanked the Colonels on two hits (both by Brynnen Williams) through five innings.

Pinch-hitter Aubrey Nail led off the bottom of the sixth by reaching on an error. One out later, Williams collected her third hit of the game, a double off the base of the left-center field fence to put runners on second and third.

With the home crowd on its feet, Judd stepped to the plate and rocketed a double to the same spot, scoring Nail and Williams and drawing the Colonels to within 3-2.

After a walk and a hit batter loaded the bases, Cox relieved Wray and was able to keep the Colonels from tying the score.

Sophia Gerald retired the Warriors in order in the top of the seventh to set the stage for a dramatic finish.

Gerald led off the bottom of the frame with an infield single. Molly Maynard then reached on an error to put the winning run on base. After a failed sacrifice bunt and a fly out, the Colonels were down to their last out of the season. Williams walked to load the bases, setting the stage for Judd's walk-off winner.

"We just didn't quit," Gibson said. "We just kept saying RTL — refuse to lose. ... Lily is a tough pitcher to figure out. I don't know if we even figured her out. We just needed to get some base runners and put some pressure on them. Like I said, we just needed to keep it close and get it done in the end."

The Warriors (16-6) staked Wray to a 3-0 lead, taking advantage of four James Wood walks. All three runs that scored reached base by walk.

With two outs in the top of the second, Anna Borst and Eliza Anderson both walked. Santanna Puller then lined a single to left, scoring Borst from second for a 1-0 lead.

Sherando added two more runs in the top of the fourth. Cox and Leighanne Lowe both walked to start the inning and Borst reached on an infield single to load the bases. Anderson followed with a single to right that scored both Cox and Lowe for the 3-0 lead.

Gerald, the Colonels' third pitcher, got out of the inning with no more damage and went the rest of the way allowing only two baserunners. She retired 12 of the 14 hitters for the win.

"We thought we were pretty comfortable [ahead 3-0], but you're never real comfortable until there are three outs in the bottom of the seventh," Sherando coach Mark Conner said. "We felt pretty good but then they made some good pitching changes and Sophia kind of shut us down."

Conner said the the margin of winning and losing came down to the slimmest of margins.

"That hit there at the end was about two inches their way and not ours," he said. "[My team] laid it all out on the field tonight. I'm really proud of them. We'll look back tomorrow and find things we want to improve on.

"James Wood is there for a reason and that's the team we've got to get after if we want to make it to the next level. We look at our program the last two years, we're starting to get there. We're going to keep working hard to get farther in the regional playoffs."

The Colonels made program history with the triumph.

"I couldn't be more proud of these kids," Gibson said. "They got it done tonight. First time in program history, states two years in a row. I told the seniors that's something special. ... We told them before the season anything short of state was a disappointment and they got it done.

"Make no mistake, we want to win that regional championship," Gibson added. "We won it last year and we want to bring that trophy home again this year."