Wooster's late uprising completes 11-3 win over West Holmes
The Lady Knights held a 3-1 after three inning, their ace Stormi Morris was on the mound, and they seemed to be hitting the ball very well.
How they lost 11-3 did not make head coach Jamie Martin very happy.
"Playing defense and getting out of innings with two outs is something we have struggled with all season," said Martin. "I told the kids going into this one that tonight and tomorrow night's game with Wooster were two must win games for us in the conference. We kind of crumbled under the pressure."
West Holmes allowed two runs to score in the fourth with two outs, tying the game at three apiece, but Martin's biggest headache came in the seventh inning. With her team trailing 5-3 and still very much in the game, Morris retired the first two hitters easily. Then came disaster, when a fly ball to left fell for an error, and the Lady Generals then reeled off six straight hits and a hit batter to give themselves a huge cushion.
"It should have never gotten to that point," said Martin. "That's where we have to realize as a team that we play hard on every play, and make plays we need to make, and we certainly didn't do that. We needed tow work our way out of that situation in the seventh, because at that point we are still in the game, and we just let it get away."
West Holmes leaped out to a 2-0 lead in the second when Morris walked, Morgan Wagers singled and Hailey Martin was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Makayla Patterson produced a run-scoring groundout and Savannah Rogers singled to center to score the second.
Wooster got one back in the third on a home run by Dusstyn Reynolds, but West Holmes got it right back in the bottom of the inning when Alys Shoemaker singled and came around to score on an error. Wooster's Alyssa Aukerman would then settle into a groove and shut the Lady Knights out the rest of the way.
Meanwhile, her teammates would go on the attack.
Wooster would tie the game in the fourth when Paige Dickerhoof singled in a run, then came around to score on an errant throw to second by catcher Hannah Miller.
The Lady Generals got two more in the sixth, with singles by Jessica Aukerman and Dickerhoof being the key hits.
Then came the seventh, when Martin dropped Julia Massary's fly ball to left with two outs.
What followed was an onslaught of hits. three straight singles by Bri Bocook, Audrey Cass and Jessica Aukerman scored a pair of runs. Dickerhoof then blew the game open with a rousing double to make it 9-3. Reynolds singles her home, and after a bunt single by Shawna Russell, Lexi Rehm drove home the final tally.
Wooster head coach Scott Dunlap said the biggest aspect to the victory was a simple thing, and once his players accomplished it, they began the hit parade.
"We had to adjust to the umpire's strike zone," said Dunlap. "He had kind of a large box, and we tell the kids that there are three strike zones. The one they're aught, chest to knees, what the umpire's strike zone is going to be for the evening and making the adjustment to find where they are comfortable between the two. We made our adjustments. Stormi may have made some mistakes on the mound, maybe not. They may have had some errors, but I credit our kids with making adjustments and putting the bat on the ball. We hit the ball hard. I was pleased."
Wooster ended up with 14 hits, with Dickerhoof collecting three of those, driving in three while scoring a pair of runs. Reynolds reached base in all five of her plate appearances, as did Bocook in her four trips to the plate. Russell, Rehm and Jessica Aukerman all added a pair of hits.
Aukerman struck out eight and allowed just five hits in the win.
"Alyssa was very efficient, and threw a really nice game, and we played well behind her in the field," said Dunlap. "Paige came up with some huge hits and it was all in all a good effort for us."
West Holmes drops to 7-7 on the year and 2-5 in the OCC. Wooster moves to 7-6 overall and 4-3 in the OCC.
For Martin, she believes her team needs to forget this one and continue to focus on what really matters.
"The key for us more about what we do and a lot less about what our opponent does," said Martin. "When we start taking control of what we do, we will be fine, but until then, we will see outcomes like we saw today."