Pot State darkens Skipjacks’ record with 1st loss
KEYSER, W.Va. – Chesapeake College's school-record 27-game women's softball winning streak ended early Thursday evening with lots of drama and more than a little controversy.
Potomac State College of West Virginia University beat the Skipjacks, 6-5, when the game was called for darkness as Chesapeake (27-1) batted with one out in the top of the seventh. Hannah Stringer, whose RBI single earlier in the inning got Chesapeake within a run, had stolen second and just taken third on a wild pitch with Kaley Schreiber at the plate working a 2-0 count.
"There was nothing that happened between the time Kaley walked to the plate and three pitches later except Hannah was now on third base and it was one minute darker," said Chesapeake head coach Durrie Hayes. "It's a shame to lose it that way."
Hayes praised the performance by Potomac State, which also played the Skipjacks tough in Chesapeake's 12-7 victory to open the doubleheader. The Catamounts (17-3) erased an early 7-0 deficit to tie Game 1 before Chesapeake retook the lead on Stephanie Weyermiller's fifth-inning RBI hit and broke the game open with a four-run seventh.
"They're a nice-hitting team," Hayes said of the Catamounts. "They're second in the nation in team batting and one of their players, Taylor Rice, is leading the country in hitting (.645 batting average)."
Chesapeake put together a three-run second inning, keyed by Taryn Zietlow's two-run single, to break a 1-1 tie in the nightcap. The Catamounts, however, answered with five runs in the bottom half of the inning, including a three-run homer by Britani Chambers off losing pitcher Cheyenne Riley to give Potomac State a 6-4 lead.
Kellieann Tyner then replaced Riley, blanking Potomac State on a hit and two walks over the last 3 1/3 innings. Tyner (12-0) had yielded just one unearned run in 5 1/3 relief innings to win the opener after Weyermiller lasted just 1 2/3 innings against the hard-hitting Catamounts.
"Kellieann came in and just shut them down," said Hayes. "She just pounded the strike zone."
It stayed 6-4 until Chesapeake's rally in the abbreviated seventh inning.
"If it doesn't get dark, I think we at least tie, if not win it," said Hayes, who was philosophical about losing the perfect season.
"Everybody wants to go undefeated, but realistically you don't think you're going to go 40-0," said Hayes. "Still, this was a tough way to have the streak broken."
Hayes was more concerned that Potomac State saddled the Skipjacks with their first region loss. That makes Monday's doubleheader at CCBC-Catonsville even more critical. Chesapeake and the Cardinals are both undefeated in the conference, while Catonsville is also undefeated in the region.
Notes: Samantha Greenwell (two doubles, two RBI), Zietlow (double, two RBI), Schreiber (double, RBI), Riley (RBI), and Stringer (RBI) each had two hits for Chesapeake in the opener. Abby Tyner added a three-run double in Chesapeake's four-run seventh.
Schreiber (double, RBI), Michelle Lawrenson (two doubles) and Stringer (two steals, RBI) each had two hits for the Skipjacks in the nightcap.
The Skipjacks' 27 straight wins is the longest winning streak by any Chesapeake College team in any sport.