WINCHESTER — The last two-game stretch for the James Wood and Millbrook High School softball teams had gone in two different directions.
Millbrook recorded two straight shutouts, while Wood lost two games by one run each.
But on Monday, the Colonels flipped the script.
Behind stellar pitching and a few timely hits, James Wood defeated Millbrook 4-1 Monday evening for a Class 4 Northwestern District win.
James Wood (12-6, 3-3 Class 4 district) outhit the Pioneers 11-3 and scored two runs in the fifth and two runs in the seventh to secure the victory.
While Millbrook (8-6, 3-1 Class 4 Northwestern District) kept the Colonels off the board for the first four innings, Sophia Gerald ended the Colonels’ drought in the top of the fifth with a line-drive, two-RBI double to center field. That hit gave the Colonels a 2-0 advantage and a lead they never gave up.
“What was going through my mind was I just needed to get a hit to help my team,” Gerald said. “It’s 0-0 right now, and they’re relying on me, and there [are] people on base. I just went up there and wasn’t really thinking. I just threw my hands out and hit it.”
Wood coach Patrick Gibson thought Gerald gave his team life.
“Up to that point, no one could get the clutch hits, and she delivered,” Gibson said. “That’s what it is, man. It’s back and forth until somebody can execute, so she got it done.”
Following a Jazmin Orr RBI double that gave the Pioneers their lone run of the night in the sixth, Wood tacked on two more runs in the top of the seventh.
Kati Brannon started the frame off with a leadoff double to left field. Molly Maynard then hit a line-drive double to center field to bring home Brannon and give the Colonels a 3-1 lead. Gabrielle Madagan drove in the last run of the contest three at-bats later, bringing home Maynard. Maynard went 2 for 4 with two doubles, one run and an RBI.
Brannon’s double came at a critical point in the game, but her efforts in the circle were even more scintillating.
Brannon finished with nine strikeouts while allowing just two hits, zero runs and three walks in the first 4.2 innings.
After getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, Brannon retired 11 of the next 13 batters, keeping the Pioneers scoreless.
Gibson thought Brannon getting out of the early jam was critical.
“That was key,” Gibson said. “We kept a zero on the board in the first inning, and we set the tone.”
Gerald relieved Brannon for the final 2.1 innings and wound up recording three strikeouts.
Even with rain sprinkling down on her, Gerald stayed composed, striking out three of the last five batters and retiring the other two.
“My team is relying on me to throw strikes, so I can rely on [my defense] to get everyone out,” Gerald said.
Wood was also led by Brynnen Williams, who went 3 for 4 with a run, and Kayleigh Harden, who went 2 for 3 with a walk.
Millbrook coach Carolyn Campbell would’ve liked to see her team take advantage of opportunities like the one-out bases-loaded situation they had in the first frame.
“We just have to learn how to put a bat on the ball in pressure situations, when we’re tied or down or even up,” Campbell said. “We have to learn how to put a bat on the ball, make them play for it, make them earn it.”
As for what Monday’s game could do for the Colonels moving forward, Gerald is hoping it starts a winning streak as the postseason nears.
“I think it gains momentum for us to push through and win the next couple of games we got going on,” Gerald said. “[Going] into playoffs, we can feed off of this win.”
Orr led the Pioneers at the plate, going 1 for 2 with a RBI and a walk. Allie Simmons went 1 for 3 with a double.
Campbell is hoping for a different outcome when Wood and Millbrook square off for a rematch on Friday.
“I love that we started this week off with this game because it gets us going on a competitive route, because every game from here on out matters for us,” Campbell said.
Wood is scheduled to play Handley on Tuesday, barring schedule changes due to weather. Millbrook is set to host Skyline on Tuesday.
— Contact Justin Robertson at jrobertson@winchesterstar.com
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