WINCHESTER — Freshmen are supposed to be the anxious ones in pressure situations, but that axiom doesn’t work for the James Wood High School softball team.
A pair of freshmen played huge roles in the Region 4D championship game on Wednesday as the Colonels clinched hosting just the second state playoff game in program history.
Taylor Fishel belted a long two-run home run and drove in three runs and reliever Maggie Maynard closed out the final three innings of North No. 2 seed James Wood’s 6-2 triumph over South No. 4 Jefferson Forest at Ridge Field.
The Colonels (20-3) will entertain the loser of Thursday’s Region 4C title game between Tuscarora and Woodgrove on Tuesday in the Class 4 quarterfinals. Jefferson Forest (14-8) will travel to the 4C champion.
“They were phenomenal, man,” James Wood coach Patrick Gibson said of the two freshmen. “They have been studs all year.”
Fishel has been a fixture in the No. 3 spot in the batting order and has responded with some historic numbers. Her home run was her 10th, breaking the school mark of nine set by teammate Kati Brannon in 2024. Gibson said she also now owns the RBI record with 43 on the season.
“She’s put up a great year, but we knew she was capable of that,” said Gibson, who has seen the third baseman belt homers against Division I commits for his summer league team. “… We just know she’s special. That’s why we plugged her in the three hole and left her there all year. She’s been steady all year. She hasn’t had any slumps at all.”
Sophia Gerald has been the Colonels’ primary starter all season, but Gibson didn’t hesitate to bring in Maynard in the fifth when Jefferson Forest had two runners in scoring position and no outs. With a little help from the Cavaliers’ baserunners, Maynard got out of that jam without allowing a run. She gave up just one run in her three innings of relief.
“We trust her in those moments and have trusted her all year,” Gibson said of the left-hander. “Coming in and shutting the door was amazing against a really good team like that.”
The contest couldn’t have started any better for James Wood. In the top of the first, the Colonels flashed the leather. Shortstop Brynnen Williams made a diving grab on a liner and center fielder Audrey Nail raced from left-center into right-center to track down a fly ball.
In the bottom of the inning, Williams led off with a perfect bunt single and the Cavaliers threw away Nail’s sacrifice bunt, putting runners at second and third. Fishel followed with a soft liner to left to plate Williams as Nail held at second. Brannon then hit a deep fly ball to left that was misjudged and went for an RBI double. Kayleigh Harden followed with a sacrifice fly to left and Brannon eventually scored on a passed ball to make it 4-0.
Gerald stranded two runners in the second inning, getting her lone strikeout to end the threat. With one on in the bottom of the frame, Fishel made history. On a 1-2 pitch from tall lefty Kimber Spence, Fishel crushed a towering drive deep over the fence in left-center to make it 6-0.
Fishel, who had three RBIs in an 8-6 semifinal win over Sherando on Monday, said that game helped with her approach against Spence, a Radford University commit.
“The last game we played against Lily Wray she was throwing a lot of outs,” Fishel explained about outside pitches. “We’ve been working on being closer to the plate in the box and we went into this game doing the same thing.”
Spence’s offering wasn’t on the outside, but right down the middle to the right-handed Fishel.
“I’m thinking that being up on the plate that pitchers freak out,” Fishel said. “They don’t want to hit the batter, so they make a missed pitch and throw it down the middle.”
After the second inning, Spence was outstanding. The only two baserunners she allowed came on a pair of hit batters. She gave up seven hits and hit three Colonels while striking out three.
Spence got the Cavaliers on the board with an RBI double in the third. Gerald then stranded two runners in scoring position to get out of the inning.
Gerald ran into a little trouble to start the fifth as a pair of doubles put runners at second and third with no outs. Maynard inherited the jam, but got out of it while pitching to only one batter.
On Maynard’s second pitch, the runner at second was called out for leaving the bag too early. Then on a fly ball to deep left that Harden caught, the Cavaliers baserunner at third raced home immediately, apparently thinking there were two outs instead of one. The Colonels threw to the bag for a double play.
“I wasn’t expecting to [pitch], but when they needed me I was ready,” Maynard said. “I was very relieved [to get out of the jam]. My defense was there. … I just went straight at them.”
Maynard said she wasn’t nervous about the situation, which didn’t surprise Gibson.
“She never seems to be [nervous],” Gibson said. “She’s got ice water running through her veins it seems like. She’s just a great player and she doesn’t ride the roller-coaster of emotions. …. I didn’t think she was going to shut them down. If she gave up a couple, I was going to ride with that.”
The Cavaliers did nick Maynard for a run in the sixth. Kinslie Winterfeldt’s RBI infield single made it 6-2. With two on, Maynard got the final two outs to prevent further damage.
In the seventh, Maynard induced three ground ball outs, the final two to second baseman Brannon, on just four pitches to close it out.
Gibson was pleased with his pitching combo of Gerald and Maynard.
“Sophia was in control of the whole game,” Gibson said. “She gave us exactly what we wanted. I wanted at least four [innings] from her with less than three runs and she did that. She did her job and then we handed the ball to Maggie.
“I don’t think we win without both of them,” he added. “I truly think that. If one of them had to go seven against that kind of team, it’s hard to get them out that third or fourth time [through the order]. Having them both is a difference-maker.”
Wednesday’s triumph gave the Colonels exactly what they wanted — an opportunity to play a state playoff game at home.
“It means a lot to host a state game,” Maynard said.
“It’s great because we don’t have to go on a long bus ride,” Fishel said. “We don’t have to worry about getting in the wrong mindset. We just come here and we’re used to the fences and everything. It’s a comfortable place.”
James Wood will be looking for its first-ever state playoff win.
“We’ve got to get it done,” Gibson said. “We’ve made states three times and now we have to win a game at states. That’s the goal we have to meet.”
What will it take?
“It’s always executing,” Gibson said. “You’ve got to play good defense because when you get to this time of year everybody can hit. We have to execute our game plan offensively, but we have to play sharp defense.”
— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at rniedzwiecki@winchesterstar.com
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