Big sixth inning (4 runs) powers Centreville over Spartans
By Jason Devaney
Normally when a softball team leaves multiple runners – more than 10 – on base it is a sign of things not going particularly well in that game.In the case of Centreville Tuesday night, the Wildcats stranded 13 runners – including leaving the bases juiced in the third inning – but somehow, Rick Ferrick's squad came through.
Visiting West Springfield committed four errors and had some passed balls, all of which allowed the Wildcats to plate five runners in Centreville's 5-0 victory in the non-district contest. Centreville, which went undefeated during its spring break trip to Florida last week, improved to 6-1. West Springfield dropped to 3-3. Both squads start their district schedules Friday evening.
"I wasn't disappointed because the girls were trying, but we've gotta be a whole lot better offensively," Ferrick said. "We left 13 runners on base and we're not gonna get away with that all the time."
Aside from Centreville's four-run output in the sixth inning, the scoreboard was mostly filled with goose eggs. Neither team scored through three and half innings, but Centreville broke the tie in the home half of the fourth. Sophomore left fielder Katie Sokol earned a one-out walk and advanced to third on passed balls during the next few at-bats. With two outs and senior Jessica Ferrick at the plate, West Springfield catcher Syndey Button was unable to handle the pitch from Kat Rogers (7 IP, 7 K) and the ball skidded toward the backstop. Sokol raced home for the game's first run.
Ferrick changed pitchers to start the fifth, pulling starter Brianne Pease and handing the game over to his daughter, Jessica. Both struck out six batters, and the pair induced six total ground-ball outs.
Rogers seemed to tire in the bottom half of the sixth, as the senior hurler walked three batters and displaced three hits. Centreville's Shanna Tutt, Cara Donovan, Kristen Sepulveda and Ferrick all scored in the frame, providing the Wildcats with a five-run buffer that proved to be more than enough.
"I thought both teams played really well, I thought it was a good softball game until the sixth inning," West Springfield coach Margaret Gibson said. "They had people on base, we had people on base, in scoring position, almost every inning. They all played good defense and that's why it was a good game."
The Spartans were only able to muster five hits, which included Krista Pedersen's one-out triple to center field in the second inning. However, a groundout and a strikeout left her hanging at third base. Senior pitcher/first baseman Jess Thomas, one of the most dominating hitters in the Patriot District, went 0-for-3 with a pop out and a fly out. Only three West Springfield batters came to the plate in two innings, and Centreville's pitchers faced no more than five batters in any given frame.
"We've got some kids with power and kids hitting the ball," coach Ferrick continued. "This part (gesturing to his head with his hands), if someone writes a book it could be a bestseller. We try to put them in pressure situations in practice with the idea that they get a feel for it in games.
"We just gotta find a way. I think they just gotta have some confidence; sometimes they're lacking confidence up there [at the plate]."