G-A softball has final say this time
Down by just one run with a pair of runners in scoring position, Alicen Hoover was the best person Greencastle-Antrim could've hoped for to be at bat.
But after one pitch of the softball, it looked like Hoover wouldn't have a chance to do what she had done all Friday afternoon. The pitch was a mile wide; it was obvious Waynesboro coach Aaron Burke had called for an intentional walk.
Everyone, including the Maiden infielders, expected a ball, but Hoover wasn't laying down that easily
"I heard their coach say 'Four balls,' so they weren't going to let me hit," Hoover said. "As a player, I've been trained that I need to pull through. I just got as close up to the plate as I could. They threw me a high rise ball outside, and I made contact. I don't think their fielders ready for it, and luckily it went my way."
Burke said, "(We) didn't execute the intentional pass, threw one right down chest high, and she killed it."
That she did. Hoover drilled it straight over second base. It trickled into the outfield, as Morgan Wagaman and Ally Brown motored home for a 13-12 victory. Greencastle and Waynesboro are now tied for first place in the Mid Penn Colonial Division.
"This was huge," Hoover said. "They were leading the division, so we knew as a team that we'd have to pull through and beat them. If we wanted to be a competitive ball team, this is what we had to do, and I think we proved our point."
Hoover finished 4-for-5 with two doubles and five RBIs.
Similar to the first meeting, the Blue Devils (6-3, 4-2 MPC) and the Maidens (8-5, 4-2 MPC) got into an utter slugfest. There were six lead changes and two ties, and the teams combined for 25 hits. Waynesboro looked like it had a certain victory when Elizabeth Churchman crushed a three-run home run in the top of the seventh to take a 12-10 lead.
"When they scored those last couple runs in the end, I didn't see my girls get down," G-A coach Mark DeCarli said. "I told the girls that if got (Jess) Root and Wagaman on, we'd win this game, because we usually score them."
The unexpected X-factor was a slew of defensive miscues. Greencastle had three errors, while Waynesboro committed a season-high six.
"It almost seemed like no team defensively wanted to win this game," Burke said.