Warriors beat James Wood in the 9th

April 8, 2011

By Mark Sawyer
Special to The Winchester Star       

WINCHESTER- Early in the season Sherando and James Wood have proven to be the two best softball teams in the Northwestern District, and fittingly they got together Thursday night to open the district schedule.

What started out as a classic pitcher's duel between Sherando senior Amanda Lutz and James Wood freshman Kierstyn Peacoe ended with the Warriors surviving a couple of late-inning bases-loaded jams and then rallying for four runs in the top of the ninth inning to escape with a 6-2 victory.

Perhaps the worst news for the Colonels was that Peacoe left the game with an ankle injury suffered while running the bases in the bottom of the fifth inning. The extent of her injury was not immediately know, nor was the timetable for her return. "When she left here she couldn't put any weight on it. It was really swollen," James Wood coach Ted McDaniel said. "The biggest thing for us right now is Peacoe. How bad she's hurt and how long she'll be out. I guess best case scenario is a sprain. Hopefully we can get her back by the end of the year."

Trailing 2-0 after 5 innings, and seeing their star pitcher go down with an injury, the Colonels (4-2-1, 0-1 Northwestern) rallied for two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the game and eventually send it into extra innings.

With Peacoe icing her ankle in the dugout, the Colonels turned to senior Erin McCarthy, who hadn't thrown an inning all year. McCarthy pitched admirably for three innings against the reigning district champs, but she ran into trouble in the top of the ninth.

Freshman Katie Seymour, a late-game defensive replacement, started the Warriors' (7-1, 1-0) ninth with a sharp single to left. Shortstop Erica Doyle then lofted a double just inside the right-field line to put runners on second and third and set the stage for Katie's older sister Jessie Seymour.

Jessie Seymour ripped a single to center, scoring two and giving the Warriors a 4-2 lead. Seymour motored all the way around to third when the throw home got past the Colonels at the plate.

"I've been struggling all week with my hitting, and I knew that my team needed me to come through right then and there," Jessie Seymour said. "[Katie] knew she had to step up tonight, and she did exactly what she needed to do. I'm really proud of her.

"I knew [James Wood] was excited, and we knew they were competitors. They did a really good job tonight. They never gave up."

Lutz then helped herself by dropping down a squeeze bunt that the Colonels threw away at the plate, allowing Seymour to score and Lutz to move to second. Kourtney Paige then put a cap on the scoring by ripping an RBI single to center, her third hit and second RBI of the night, scoring Lutz and making it 6-2.

"The Seymours got two big hits to get us going that inning, and we were pretty aggressive on the base paths there," Sherando coach Garry Sawyer said. "Hats off to [the Colonels] - they played very well and did all the right things. Coach McDaniel has turned that team around to a very, very good team. They're very tough defensively and hitting a lot better than last year. They're the most improved team in the district by far."

Sherando took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. Kennedy Rothemich singled to start the inning and moved to second on a wild pitch. One out later, Courtney Reid singled her home.

The score stayed that way until the top of the fifth, when the Warriors scored what looked to be an important insurance run. Doyle led off with a single and moved to second on Jessie Seymour's sacrifice bunt. After a pop out, Paige ripped a two-out RBI double to right center.

Wood's first comeback attempt came in the bottom of the fifth, when Peacoe led off with an infield single. The Colonels tried to sacrifice her to second but Lutz made a nice play on the bunt and fired to second to retire Peacoe. On the play Peacoe started her slide late and went hard into the base, injuring her ankle. After several minutes on the ground she had to be helped off the field.

Following the injury the Colonels went quietly to end the fifth.

Three consecutive singles by Morgan Baker, McCarthy, and Charlotte Viands loaded the bases for Wood to start the sixth inning.

After a fielder's choice forced Baker out at the plate, McCarthy scored on a wild pitch to get the Colonels on the board. Amanda Higgins followed with an RBI ground out to tie the score 2-2.

James Wood had a golden opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases with no outs after Sara Hoover ripped a single followed by walks to both Megan Christian and Morgan Sykes.

Lutz was up to the challenge, though, forcing the next two hitters into ground balls that resulted in outs at the plate and then getting a ground ball back to herself to send the game into extra innings.

"I told the girls after the game that I couldn't be more proud of them," McDaniel said. "They left it all on the field, they battled hard and I guess what really made me the proudest was when they rallied behind Erin [when Peacoe went down]. We're not giving up. We don't quit, and we battled them the whole game. I can't say enough good things about them."

Sherando outhit James Wood 13-9, led by Paige, who finished 3 for 5. Doyle and Rothemich each had two hits.

The Colonels were led by Baker and McCarthy with two hits apiece.