'Jacks fall to Cards after rallying to reach title game
WYE MILLS – Two epic comebacks in one afternoon was just too much to ask of the Skipjacks.
Chesapeake College erased a 10-3, sixth-inning deficit to stun Hagerstown Community College, 11-10, Sunday afternoon to reach the NJCAA Division II Region XX women's softball tournament finals. Top-seeded CCBC-Catonsville then dispatched the Skipjacks, 14-0, in the finals as the Cardinals went undefeated in the double-elimination tournament to win their second straight region crown.
"They just came out and smacked us this game," said Chesapeake head coach Durrie Hayes, whose squad had dropped a 4-3 decision to Catonsville in Saturday's winners' bracket final.
Catonsville ace Sammi O'Connor, who gave up eight hits in Saturday's meeting, had a no-hitter broken up by Taryn Zietlow with one out in the seventh. The Cardinals (38-9) banged out 10 hits and jumped out to a 9-0 lead as Eleni Wright hit a three-run homer in the first inning and Krystin Elliott (five RBI) launched a grand slam as part of a six-run second.
"She (O'Connor) was sharp, they played good defense and they hit the ball," Hayes said of the Cardinals.
Catonsville was also able to take advantage of a fatigued Kellieann Tyner, who pitched five innings of relief against Hagerstown after the Hawks jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the losers' bracket final. Tyner allowed eight hits and eight walks in three innings against Catonsville, exiting after the Cardinals blew out to a 13-0 lead.
"She was just out of gas," Hayes said of Tyner, who notched her 16th win of the season against Hagerstown.
While the Catonsville loss was a disappointing end for the Skipjacks, the Hagerstown comeback provided one of their most exhilarating wins of the season. Kayla Ewing's two-run homer in the top of the sixth seemingly put the exclamation point on a Hagerstown victory, giving the Hawks their 10-3 cushion, but Chesapeake scored five in the home sixth and three more in the bottom of the seventh to pull out the win.
Hagerstown starter Morgan Purdham, who flirted with control issues throughout the game, issued four sixth-inning walks along with a two-run single to Samantha Greenwell and a two-run double to Zietlow. The Hawks, however, appeared to have dodged a bullet when Kaley Schreiber's bases-loaded blast to center was caught near the fence to end the inning.
Hagerstown head coach Thomas Burge replaced Purdham, who walked nine in six innings, with reliever Rosemarie Spracklin to start the seventh. The Skipjacks quickly loaded the bases with one out on a walk and two Hawk errors.
Greenwell, who went 5-for-5 and drove in six runs, doubled off the center-field fence to plate Cheyenne Riley (2-for-2, four runs) and Hannah Stringer with the tying runs. Spracklin then walked Zietlow to load the bases and Michelle Lawrenson to force in Stephanie Weyermiller (two hits, three runs, two RBI) with the winning run.
"We knew we either had to do it or we were done, and we didn't want the season to end," Greenwell said of the Skipjacks' spirited comeback.
"They left the door open with a couple of walks," said Hayes, adding, "They helped us a little bit in that last inning."
Purdham (four RBI) had a run-scoring single as part of a three-run first and a two-run homer during a four-run third that gave Hagerstown a 7-1 lead and chased Weyermiller from the mound. Jenna Crunkleton (three runs) and Ewing (three runs, three RBI) each went 3-for-4 as Hagerstown finished with an 11-10 advantage in hits – but also a dozen walks compared to one for Chesapeake's pitchers.
Notes: Chesapeake's 33 wins is a new school record, with the Skipjacks 0-4 against Catonsville and 33-3 against everyone else. The Skipjacks have now played in four of the last five region title games, including their 2009 region championship season.
Riley pitched the final three innings against Catonsville, allowing just a run on two hits, two walks and a hit batsman.