“Honestly, I am heartbroken for our kids,” said River coach Steve Austin. “It is one of the toughest losses I have been involved with in a very long career. We never quit believing that we would win until it was over and we didn’t win.”
Both teams were scoreless for two innings before the visiting Knights got on the board in the top of the third. Elly Lackey led off with a single to right and Lexi McCullough’s sacrifice bunt was thrown away, allowing her to reach base and moving Lackey to third. Austyn Moran singled hard to left, scoring Lackey, and Kaycee Kincaid followed with a firm single to right to plate McCullough.
Leading 2-0, Knights pitcher Moran pitched three up and three down innings in the third and fourth before a myriad of circumstances took place in the ill-fated home fifth inning. Number seven hitter Lila Demott hit a liner down the right field line and Knights right fielder Makayla Petty slipped on the turf trying to cut the ball off. The result was an inside the park home run just fair into the corner.
Moran struck out Ashlyn Chappell before walking pinch hitter Cara Barrett. Leadoff hitter Rebekah Stowe then singled hard to right center and a misplay allowed Barrett to score, tying the game, as Stowe moved to second. Moran then sawed off number two hitter Katie Moser, but the short pop up down the third base line fell safely as River fielders ran together in front of the Dan River dugout.
Still with just one out, Wildcat star Emily McVay was able to muscle a fly ball just deep enough to center field to score Stowe with the eventual game winning run on a sacrifice fly.
James River went quietly in the top of the sixth and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the inning. Then, with one out in the top of the seventh, hot hitting Lackey tripled to deep right field to put the tying run just 60 feet away. McCullough followed with a bunt but Wildcat pitcher McVay made an outstanding defensive play to nip Lackey diving back into third. A fly ball to right by Moran then ended the game.
Lackey led James River with three hits, including the triple, along with a run scored. Moran had a single and a double and Ripley Barry ripped a single to right and a double into the left field corner. Kincaid had a single as James River outhit Dan River, eight to four.
Moran pitched extremely well all night against a formidable line up of Wildcats. She allowed only four hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.
“Austyn gave us a chance to win with her gutsy effort,” said Austin. “She, and our whole team, deserved a better fate but we just came up a little short.
James River ended the season with a record of 16-5, just short of qualifying for the state tournament.
“After we lost two starters for the season in the final couple of weeks, we just regrouped and vowed to play the best we could and not give up on any of our goals,” said Austin. “I think we did that.
“Tough losses like this one are full of what ifs. The truth is we out hit them and we left seven runners on base so we would like to have scored a couple of more runs along the way.”
