SOFTBALL: WINSTON-SALEM STATE WINS CIAA CHAMPIONSHIP IN THRILLING FASHION
WINSTON-SALEM STATE WINS CIAA SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP IN
THRILLING FASHION
Rams score five runs in bottom of the eighth tin beat Chowan
7-6
April 23, 2011
ETTRICK, VA – Her team still down by two runs in the bottom
of the eighth inning, Winston-Salem State head coach LaTanya
Hilliard-Gray pulled her team over and had one simple point to
make.
“This is what we do,” she said.
And with that, in the midst what looked like an improbable
comeback, the Rams made that improbable a reality, scoring five
runs in their last at-bat to stun Chowan 7-6 and win the 2011 CIAA
Softball Championship on Saturday.
With three runs in and the bases still loaded with two outs,
Candace Spinks hit a rocket toward Chowan shortstop Fahren Munro.
The sharp grounder got by Munro for an error and bounded into
left-center field, allowing two runs to score, including the
game-winner.
“All we had to do was believe the way I believe in
them,” said Hilliard-Gray.
Only moments earlier, Alex Allen appeared to have come up with her
second eighth inning, game-winning hit of the day. She had slapped
a single to right field to score the go-ahead run, sparking a
four-run rally as Chowan (34-19) took what seemed like an
insurmountable 6-2 lead to the bottom half of the inning after
using six hits and two Winston-Salem State errors to take
control.
But the Rams (29-11) quickly put runners on first and second with
one out against Chowan’s third pitcher of the game, Lacey
Wilderboer. And Winston-Salem State’s Kayla Woodbury made
things interesting with a two-run double to left-center field to
make it 6-4.
After giving up a single to Latoya Lynch, Chowan made another
pitching change, bringing in Amber Matthews, who, with runners on
second and third, loaded the bases after a walk to Britney Cato on
four pitches.
The Rams kept the pressure on, and Shantel Haskins’ ground
ball to second base was mishandled, allowing another run to score
to trim the deficit to just one, 6-5.
Matthews retired Hope Billings with a strikeout for the second out,
but Spinks delivered the game-winning run.
Winston-Salem State moved through the tournament bracket unbeaten,
including a 5-3 come-from-behind victory over Chowan on Friday. But
it appeared as though the championship round was headed to a second
game until the Rams’ fireworks in the eighth.
Chowan led three times in the game, getting an RBI single in the
second inning on Wildeboer’s double. Winston-Salem State tied
the game in the top of the third on Haskins’’s infield
single, but Chowan responded with another run driven in by
Wildeboer in the top of the sixth to take a 2-1 lead.
Again, though, the Rams came back, tying the game on Tanaya
Pettus’ bases-loaded single in the bottom half of the
inning.
But that was all the Rams could get, despite having the bases full
with no outs. Chowan came up with a dazzling shortstop-to-home-to
third double play, then relief pitcher Allie Kolezynski ended
the threat by retiring Woodbury.
Still, Winston-Salem State found a way.
Tournament MVP Brittany Lane earned her fourth win of the
tournament weekend, allowing six runs – four earned –
on 15 hits.
Matthews was hung with the loss; the lone run charged to her was
unearned.
Haskins and Lynch each had three hits while Pettus and Woodbury had
two apiece for Winston-Salem State, which banged out 15 hits.
Tricia Gorman, the nation’s top run-producer, had three hits
and two RBI while Wildeboer did the same. Megan Wade, Liz Hipple
and Liz Sill each had a pair of hits for Chowan.
“We practice to win,” said Hilliard-Gray. That’s
why we’re used to winning.”
The CIAA All-Tournament team consists of: Emily
Montgomery (Shaw), Samantha Smith (Johnson C. Smith), Ayssa Winston
(Virginia State), Sharon Lipford (Virginia State) Mariela Hernandez
(Bowie State), Haley Snyder (Bowie State) Olivia Peavey
(Fayetteville State), Tricia Gorman (Chowan), Farhen Munro
(Chowan), Shantel Haskins (Winston-Salem State), Latoya Lynch
(Winston-Salem State) and MVP Brittany Lane (Winston-Salem
State).
