jeffpatterson
03-28-2008, 09:53 PM
Warwick breaks through to overcome Gloucester
The Raiders survive the first inning in a matchup of Peninsula District softball contenders and beat the Dukes for the first time since 2005.
By DAVE JOHNSON | djohnson@dailypress.com | 247-4649
NEWPORT NEWS — Three years isn’t that long, really, given how time does seem to fly. But for Warwick High’s softball team, three years was an eternity — an eternity that finally came to an end Friday afternoon.
Starting with a small but significant step — surviving the first inning — the Raiders put constant pressure on Stephanie Coates and came away with a 4-3 victory over Gloucester. It was their first win over the Dukes since the 2005 season, when this year’s seniors were freshmen.
Warwick (4-0) remained undefeated in the Peninsula District while Gloucester (4-1, 3-1) took its first loss.
The Dukes took three games from the Raiders last season, with first-inning outbursts the key each time. But after Travonna Byrd retired the first three batters she faced Friday, Warwick had a good feeling.
“Once we got out of that first inning, we knew we were going to win it,” said Byrd, who didn’t give up a hit until the sixth inning. “This is really important for us. It feels so good to prove that we’re capable of what everybody thought we weren’t.”
While Byrd had her stuff, Coates clearly did not. Though she didn’t give up a hit until the fifth inning, she had uncharacteristic control issues. She ended up walking nine, four of which were intentional. She also threw five wild pitches and hit two batters.
“She just didn’t pitch well, and that’s a shock,” Gloucester coach Red Lindsay said. “Maybe she was too wound up. That happens.”
In the fifth, she gave up a leadoff walk to Alex Ward and a single to Sarah Atkins to put runners on first and third. After Coates intentionally walked Va King to load the bases, Jaz Baldwin bunted. Second baseman Amber Stevens couldn’t handle it, and Ward scored.
Chelsea Dawson then bunted down the third-base line, and the ball took a funny hop on Ashley Moore, allowing another run to score. After Tiera Gostomski bunted into a fielder’s choice, Coates hit Kelsy Cochran with a pitch to plate the inning’s third run.
“We picked up on the fact that she was not on top of her game,” Byrd said. “Everybody was patient.”
Gloucester got two runs back in the sixth and came close to getting another. But with the tying run on third, Karli Robb lined hard to right, where Gostomski made an excellent catch.
“The (coaches) pushed me back because she had hit one over my head last year,” Gostomski said. “As soon as she hit it, I thought, ‘Oh no.’ But I went after it. I wasn’t going to let it bounce.”
Warwick went up 4-2 in its half of the sixth on King’s RBI single. That set the stage for an interesting seventh.
With one out, Gloucester catcher Lauren Kiser sent a shot to center that King barely had enough room to catch. Moore then singled and Stevens drew a walk to put runners on first and second.
Mara Firth then lined a single to right, scoring Moore and moving courtesy runner Rebbeca Palmer to third. But as she rounded the bag, Palmer was thrown out by Atkins for the final out.
WARWICK 4, GLOUCESTER 3
Gloucester 000 002 1 — 3 4 2
Warwick 000 031 x — 4 3 1
WP — Byrd (4-0). LP — Coates (4-1). Records — Gloucester 4-1, 3-1 Peninsula District; Warwick 3-0, 3-0.
The Raiders survive the first inning in a matchup of Peninsula District softball contenders and beat the Dukes for the first time since 2005.
By DAVE JOHNSON | djohnson@dailypress.com | 247-4649
NEWPORT NEWS — Three years isn’t that long, really, given how time does seem to fly. But for Warwick High’s softball team, three years was an eternity — an eternity that finally came to an end Friday afternoon.
Starting with a small but significant step — surviving the first inning — the Raiders put constant pressure on Stephanie Coates and came away with a 4-3 victory over Gloucester. It was their first win over the Dukes since the 2005 season, when this year’s seniors were freshmen.
Warwick (4-0) remained undefeated in the Peninsula District while Gloucester (4-1, 3-1) took its first loss.
The Dukes took three games from the Raiders last season, with first-inning outbursts the key each time. But after Travonna Byrd retired the first three batters she faced Friday, Warwick had a good feeling.
“Once we got out of that first inning, we knew we were going to win it,” said Byrd, who didn’t give up a hit until the sixth inning. “This is really important for us. It feels so good to prove that we’re capable of what everybody thought we weren’t.”
While Byrd had her stuff, Coates clearly did not. Though she didn’t give up a hit until the fifth inning, she had uncharacteristic control issues. She ended up walking nine, four of which were intentional. She also threw five wild pitches and hit two batters.
“She just didn’t pitch well, and that’s a shock,” Gloucester coach Red Lindsay said. “Maybe she was too wound up. That happens.”
In the fifth, she gave up a leadoff walk to Alex Ward and a single to Sarah Atkins to put runners on first and third. After Coates intentionally walked Va King to load the bases, Jaz Baldwin bunted. Second baseman Amber Stevens couldn’t handle it, and Ward scored.
Chelsea Dawson then bunted down the third-base line, and the ball took a funny hop on Ashley Moore, allowing another run to score. After Tiera Gostomski bunted into a fielder’s choice, Coates hit Kelsy Cochran with a pitch to plate the inning’s third run.
“We picked up on the fact that she was not on top of her game,” Byrd said. “Everybody was patient.”
Gloucester got two runs back in the sixth and came close to getting another. But with the tying run on third, Karli Robb lined hard to right, where Gostomski made an excellent catch.
“The (coaches) pushed me back because she had hit one over my head last year,” Gostomski said. “As soon as she hit it, I thought, ‘Oh no.’ But I went after it. I wasn’t going to let it bounce.”
Warwick went up 4-2 in its half of the sixth on King’s RBI single. That set the stage for an interesting seventh.
With one out, Gloucester catcher Lauren Kiser sent a shot to center that King barely had enough room to catch. Moore then singled and Stevens drew a walk to put runners on first and second.
Mara Firth then lined a single to right, scoring Moore and moving courtesy runner Rebbeca Palmer to third. But as she rounded the bag, Palmer was thrown out by Atkins for the final out.
WARWICK 4, GLOUCESTER 3
Gloucester 000 002 1 — 3 4 2
Warwick 000 031 x — 4 3 1
WP — Byrd (4-0). LP — Coates (4-1). Records — Gloucester 4-1, 3-1 Peninsula District; Warwick 3-0, 3-0.