Lynn Burke
03-26-2007, 09:31 AM
STORY: Bethel 3, Gloucester 2
By Dave Johnson
djohnson@dailypress.com
HAMPTON — As soon as the ball trickled off Jamie Powell’s bat, Gaby Gonzalez took off. It didn’t matter that she was on second base and the ball was hit about 20 feet — she was stopping for nobody.
“I had it in my head to score,” she said. “That was my goal all along, that we were going to win this game.”
And so Bethel High’s softball team did. After forcing extra innings with a game-tying single in the sixth, Gonzalez scored from second on Powell’s infield single as the host Bruins rallied to defeat Gloucester 3-2 Friday afternoon. Bethel remained unbeaten at 4-0 while the Dukes, who ran the table in the Peninsula District last season, fell to 3-1 (3-2 overall).
“This feels so sweet,” said Gonzalez, who went 2-for-3. “My teachers were saying, ‘Gaby, why are you so quiet?’ I said, ‘Because I’m focused on this game!’ We’re on a roll now, and now we’re the team to beat.”
Gloucester led 2-0 after two innings, which usually is enough for a dominant pitcher like Stephanie Coates. She gave up only one hit through the first five innings, though it was critical — a two-out, two-strike RBI single by Morgan Jenkins in the fourth.
Coates carried that 2-1 lead into the sixth, when Brittany Hicks led off with a triple to the fence in center field. Gonzalez — whose two older brothers, Guillermo and Oscar, played baseball at Bethel — then fouled off a few pitches before lining a shot to center for the tying run.
“I looked at Guillermo during that at-bat and he said, ‘Just keep fouling them off until you get your pitch,’ ” Gonzalez said. “It reminded me of them teaching me hitting in the back yard.”
In the eighth, Gonzalez nearly ended the game herself with a two-out drive to left that landed at the base of the fence. Then came Powell, the cleanup hitter. With a 1-2 count, she appeared to go around for what would have been strike three. But the umpires said she didn’t, giving her new life.
“It was strike three,” Gloucester coach Red Lindsay said. “There’s no doubt.”
On the next pitch, Powell hit a slow roller to Ashley Moore at third base. Moore charged, but Powell slid into first to beat the throw. Gonzalez never stopped running until she was sliding at the plate.
“She’s an aggressive runner, so I knew she was going to come,” Bethel coach Larry Estep said. “She’s a leader.”
BETHEL 3, GLOUCESTER 2
Gloucester 110 000 00 — 2 6 1
Bethel 000 011 01 — 3 5 1
WP—Ryan (4-0). LP—Coates (3-2). Standouts – Gloucester, Thomas 2-2 (1 run, 1 RBI), Coates 2-4 (1 RBI); Bethel, Gonzalez 2-3 (1 run, 1 RBI). Records – Gloucester 3-2, 3-1 Peninsula District; Bethel 4-0.
By Dave Johnson
djohnson@dailypress.com
HAMPTON — As soon as the ball trickled off Jamie Powell’s bat, Gaby Gonzalez took off. It didn’t matter that she was on second base and the ball was hit about 20 feet — she was stopping for nobody.
“I had it in my head to score,” she said. “That was my goal all along, that we were going to win this game.”
And so Bethel High’s softball team did. After forcing extra innings with a game-tying single in the sixth, Gonzalez scored from second on Powell’s infield single as the host Bruins rallied to defeat Gloucester 3-2 Friday afternoon. Bethel remained unbeaten at 4-0 while the Dukes, who ran the table in the Peninsula District last season, fell to 3-1 (3-2 overall).
“This feels so sweet,” said Gonzalez, who went 2-for-3. “My teachers were saying, ‘Gaby, why are you so quiet?’ I said, ‘Because I’m focused on this game!’ We’re on a roll now, and now we’re the team to beat.”
Gloucester led 2-0 after two innings, which usually is enough for a dominant pitcher like Stephanie Coates. She gave up only one hit through the first five innings, though it was critical — a two-out, two-strike RBI single by Morgan Jenkins in the fourth.
Coates carried that 2-1 lead into the sixth, when Brittany Hicks led off with a triple to the fence in center field. Gonzalez — whose two older brothers, Guillermo and Oscar, played baseball at Bethel — then fouled off a few pitches before lining a shot to center for the tying run.
“I looked at Guillermo during that at-bat and he said, ‘Just keep fouling them off until you get your pitch,’ ” Gonzalez said. “It reminded me of them teaching me hitting in the back yard.”
In the eighth, Gonzalez nearly ended the game herself with a two-out drive to left that landed at the base of the fence. Then came Powell, the cleanup hitter. With a 1-2 count, she appeared to go around for what would have been strike three. But the umpires said she didn’t, giving her new life.
“It was strike three,” Gloucester coach Red Lindsay said. “There’s no doubt.”
On the next pitch, Powell hit a slow roller to Ashley Moore at third base. Moore charged, but Powell slid into first to beat the throw. Gonzalez never stopped running until she was sliding at the plate.
“She’s an aggressive runner, so I knew she was going to come,” Bethel coach Larry Estep said. “She’s a leader.”
BETHEL 3, GLOUCESTER 2
Gloucester 110 000 00 — 2 6 1
Bethel 000 011 01 — 3 5 1
WP—Ryan (4-0). LP—Coates (3-2). Standouts – Gloucester, Thomas 2-2 (1 run, 1 RBI), Coates 2-4 (1 RBI); Bethel, Gonzalez 2-3 (1 run, 1 RBI). Records – Gloucester 3-2, 3-1 Peninsula District; Bethel 4-0.