Robert Frost recommends the “road less traveled” and that holds true in the West Virginia High School softball playoffs as much as in his poetry. Four teams get to traverse the winners bracket as they contend for a state title. Those unfortunate enough to falter in their initial game find the road, more like a gauntlet, much more crowded, much more difficult, and much more wearisome.
Pendleton County took their lumps in game one, but that did not derail their confidence as they cut down the East Hardy Cougars and then took on Sherman. The squad from Seth rode in with a 22 and 13 record, but that slate of wins did not include many schools in higher classifications. Conversely, Pendleton County’s journey included solid wins over Class AA competition and decisive wins over Class AAAA Spring Mills and Class AAA Hampshire.
Sherman drew first blood, taking two from Pendleton County in the bottom of the first. They faced a still strong Susan Vincell on the mound, but in her third game in two days. The Tide got their first runner aboard despite an heroic effort by Kinsley Price at second base. She dove for the ball, corralled it, then from her posterior nearly gunned the first runner out, missing by a second.
The Wildcats fired back in the top of the third inning. Molly Rowe drew a one out walk and was assisted by a Callie Judy sacrifice bunt to get to scoring position. Jessica Parker followed, driving a no balls and one strike pitch off of the pitcher and well into centerfield. Rowe wasted no time, circling the bases and coming in for the first Wildcat run.
With two outs and a runner on first, Vincell drove the first pitch out to the outfield wall with Parker going home with the tying run. Price, who was the lone Wildcat on the all-tournament team, hit a frozen rope drive to left field. This scored the third run, but Price was tagged out trying to extend the play to third base.
Pendleton County hit Sherman again in the top of the fifth. Laney Bowers slapped a ground ball toward second. Her speed and hustle got her there safe just ahead of the throw. The next at bat belonged to Molly Rowe. On the fifth of six pitches a passed ball allowed Bowers to get to scoring position. When Rowe pulled the next pitch into left field, that is exactly what Bowers did, setting the score at 4-2.
Judy struck out in her at bat, but Rowe stole third on the first pitch to her. Next up, Parker got her bat under the ball and lifted it high into centerfield, deep enough for the runner to tag and score the fifth Wildcat run.
With Vincell pitching so many games in such a short time, her defense had to pick her up when she was not racking up strikeouts. The bottom of the fifth served as a perfect example.
Sherman managed to get a runner to third base with no outs. Then the next batter hit a lazy fly to shallow center. Judy got a jump on the ball that even Dale Murchy or Willie McGee would have envied. She dove to her knees, made a sliding catch with the very tip of her glove, then rolled her glove hand to cradle the ball for the important out.
Rowe could have replied with “hold my cola” as the next pitch to a Sherman batter was flared into shallow left. She sprinted back, reached up, and snagged the second out. Vincell got the third batter to pop up softly to first.
As Vincell and her fielders shut out Sherman from scoring opportunities, they slammed the door to a comeback with their hitting. Sherman’s hurler, precisely painting targets on the outside of the strike zone early, now struggled to get strikes. Price earned a walk with two of the pitches tracking higher than she is tall.
Next, Lexy Tingler laid a bunt down the third base side that moved Price to scoring position. With one out and Tingler on second, Chesnee Colaw lofted a jam job pop up behind first base and in front of the right fielder, scoring Pendleton County’s sixth run.
The Wildcats added more runs in the top of the seventh after Vincell and the defense retired the side in order.
Rowe led off with a single that glanced off the glove of the third baseman. Next, Callie Judy lifted a base hit into right field whose position perplexed the fielder long enough to get Rowe home for the seventh run.
Parker followed next. On a two balls and two strikes count, she swung the bat pitching wedge-style back to the pitcher, then outraced the throw to first. Vincell’s at bat included a Judy steal of third, which she then rewarded with a towering fly ball to deep center that sent the lead runner home.
Up 8-3, Pendleton County sent Price to the plate. On her way to a two and two count, she fouled numerous balls straight back, an ominous sign for any pitcher, meaning that the batter has the pitches well timed. Price smacked a line drive off the glove of the left fielder, scoring the ninth run. She then scored the final run during Colaw’s at bat. As Price stole third, the catcher attempted to gun her down, but the throw went errant into left field.
Sherman put up two in the seventh, but Rowe put her team in the win column, 10-5, by squeezing the last out on a pop up.
An exhausted Wildcat team did not fare well against the surging Wahama White Falcons and were eliminated by them, 11-0. That said, the team only loses two seniors with the backbone of the players coming from ninth through 11th grade. With talented rising freshmen waiting to fight for a place on the team next year, Pendleton County softball should remain dominant for the foreseeable future.
