John Marshall Rallies Past Wheeling Park
Thayer’s Sacrifice Fly Plates Blake With Winning Run In Bottom Of 7th
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GLEN DALE - The John Marshall softball team will head to the Ripken Experience Tournament with an unblemished 7-0 record. However, the Monarchs are battle-tested entering the three-day event in Pigeon Forge, Tn., where they will play six games.
After erupting for five runs in the top of the 10th inning Monday night in Morgantown for a 5-1 win over the Mohigans, John Marshall waited until its last at-bat before rallying past visiting Wheeling Park.
With the bases loaded and only one out, Alexis Thayer lifted a flyball to right that drifted into foul territory where Wheeling Park's Hannah Seivertson made the catch, spun and fired towards the plate, but it was too late as the speedy Ava Blake tagged and scored for a 5-4 victory.
"I wouldn't want anybody else leading off the inning," veteran John Marshall head coach Ed West said of Blake, a junior who is a Marshall University commit. "She's a player."
As for the game-ending play, West said, "we tell the girls all the time that if you put the ball in play and force the opponent to make a play, anything can happen, and it did."
Blake led off the home half of the seventh with a double over Makiyah Strothers' head in center. With one out, winning pitcher Kadence Pettit legged out an infield single and Nia Miller was intentionally walked to load the bases. Thayer's game-winner came on a 1-1 pitch off hard-luck loser Amber Thompson.
"That's on the coaching staff. We probably should've yelled at her to let it go, but how do you tell a kid not to catch a ball?" Wheeling Park head coach Pat Durkin said when reflecting back on the play that was still fresh in his mind. "Looking back on it, we should've told her to let it drop.
"She (Seivertson) made a strong throw to the plate, but they had a pretty fast girl on third.
"It was a good ball game," Durkin noted. "I think we gave them a couple of runs there in the fourth with an error, but that's softball."
Wheeling Park (5-4) took a 3-0 lead in the second inning when it collected five hits off Monarchs starter AC Cumberledge.
Makenna Kelly dropped a single into right-center leading off and went to second one out later when Lauren Nolte's blooper in front of the plate fell for an infield single. Dalaney Randolph singled sharply through the left side of the infield to load the bases before Thompson helped herself by lining a shot just inside the bag at third and down the line in left as Kelly and Nolte scored. With two outs, Mary Derrow singled to the hole at short that Blake dove and knocked down, but Randolph raced home.
Kelly, who was 3-for-3 on the day with a pair of singles, sent a blast to left-center with one out that just cleared the fence as the margin increased to 4-0.
"I'm glad Makenna had a good game," Durkin said. "She has some aches and pains and there's no better way to help them feel better than to have a day at the plate like she did."
Little did anyone know, but the Patriots would only get one more base hit - a leadoff single by Kelly in the sixth - as Pettit took over inside the circle to start the fourth.
"I knew if we didn't let it get any more out of hand than 4-0, that we had a chance at coming back," West stressed. "I was a little disappointed with the start. I knew Kadence pitched 10 innings on Monday and I asked her if she was okay and she said 'yes,' but I wanted AC to get some innings in, and she hit her spots for the most part. Wheeling Park is a good hitting team."
John Marshall cut the 4-0 deficit to 4-3 with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs, No. 9 hitter Reese Ward was hit with a pitch to load the bases. Paytyn Tucker followed with a seeing-eye single back through the middle as courtesy runner Tori Finley and Kaylee White scored. Masyn Inclan's grounder to second was misplayed as Ward crossed the plate and the speedy Tucker came around from second to tie things at 4.
Wheeling Park's Mary Derrow made a fantastic catch to end the inning and prevent further damage. Running full speed into foul territory in left, the senior reached over the fence and brought the ball back with her as she crashed into the barrier.
Cumberledge fanned three in her 3-inning stint inside the circle. Pettit, a West Liberty recruit, struck out five in her four innings. Neither walked a batter as they teamed on a 7-hitter. She retired 12 of the 13 batters she faced, with Kelly's seventh-inning single being the only hit.
Thompson fanned five and walked three in a route-going effort that drew praise from her head coach.
"I'm not sure of her stats, but I thought Amber pitched really well," Durkin said. "We got out of trouble a couple of times, but a couple of mistakes was the difference."