Derrick Webb, Managing Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CHILLICOTHE — At any point during Monday’s contest, Jackson could have started pointing fingers at each other.
To be fair, there was plenty of blame to go around.
The Ironladies had committed five defensive errors, allowing Chillicothe to stay in the ballgame and, eventually, take a 5-4 lead going into the top of the seventh inning.
But with three finals outs remaining, instead of hanging their heads, they simply stuck together and refused to let a win slip away.
Thanks to three consecutive scoreless innings from senior pitcher Serenity Taylor and an offense that was led late by sophomore Brynlee Smalley, Jackson (18-5, 9-0 FAC) put away a 6-5 victory over the Cavaliers in nine innings to clinch at least a share of the league crown.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
“I told the girls that in this game, the ball finds you,” Jackson coach Brandon Stevens said. “So you make those early errors in the game and you don’t have time to sulk because your time is coming. They played tough tonight. Our schedule has been tough. Our non-conference games are tough. So this is not an uncommon type of game to try to fight and win. For them to have the grit to stick together and not point fingers, it was awesome to see. I’m super proud of them.”
While Taylor and Smalley each held up their end of the deal late, senior catcher Maddie Wright provided the Ironladies’ early fireworks with two separate swings.
She went yard in the top of the first inning to give her team a 1-0 lead and, after Chillicothe tied the game thanks to a defensive error in the bottom half, repeated the process in the third with an absolute no-doubter to make it 2-1.
“Maddie is very special. We’ll hate to see her go this year, but I’m really proud of her,” Stevens said. “[Chillicothe’s] coaches know her about as well as we do. She plays travel ball with them. So she kind of knew she was going to see offspeed in the count and that they were going to nibble a little bit. We challenged her to not miss that pitch. She just played super well. The team watches her to see how she reacts, and she played really well tonight.”
The Cavaliers (18-3, 8-1 FAC) refused to go away, though.
They’d force another tie in the third when Josie Huddleston came around to score on an error. Then, in the bottom of the fifth, Vivian Morgan scored on another defensive miscue, giving Chillicothe a 3-2 lead.
In the top of the sixth, Jackson would jump back on top at 4-3 with a two-run double from Izzy Swisher. But the Cavs once again had an answer in the bottom half — this time in the form of an error that scored Isabella Witte and an RBI single from Morgan — to take a 5-4 lead.
Enter Brynlee Smalley.
With her team facing its last two outs, Smalley stepped to the plate after KJ Worsham, Lexi Perry and Ally Ferris had loaded the bases. She took the first pitch she saw into center field, scoring Worsham for a 5-5 count.
Two innings later, after both teams had been held scoreless in the eighth, she came to bat with a runner on first and an out. A deep fly ball into the left-center field gap brought Perry — who had walked to start the frame — around to score, giving the Ironladies a 6-5 lead.
In the bottom of the ninth, Taylor worked around a walk and a single to slam the door shut.
“Our approach was to simply swing at strikes,” Stevens said. “[Chillicothe’s CJ Rittinger] is good. She has spin and she has control. But we challenged the girls to swing at pitches in the strike zone. At some point, she has to throw it in the strike zone. We were disciplined in doing that.”
Statistically, Wright was 2-for-4 with two home runs, a walk and two RBIs while Smalley finished 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs. KJ Worsham also had a two-hit night, going 2-for-5 with a run scored, and Swished finished 1-for-6 with a double and two RBIs.
In the circle, Taylor tossed all nine innings, surrendering just a single earned run and striking out 10 hitters.
As for Chillicothe, Morgan led the way offensively with a 2-for-4 effort alongside a double, two runs and an RBI. Josie Huddleston, Danika Simpson and Isabella Witte all had two base knocks apiece.
Rittinger took the loss in the circle, tossing all nine innings and allowing five earned runs on 12 hits while whiffing seven batters.
The Ironladies and Cavaliers will square off for a second and final time this spring at 5 p.m. on Wednesday in the Apple City.
If Jackson can earn a second win, it would wrap up an outright league championship. On the other side of that coin, if Chillicothe can avenge Monday’s loss, the two will split the FAC title.
“We put 12 hits on the board tonight and Chillicothe put up 10 of their own,” Stevens said. “So, as a coaching staff, we’ve got to go back and figure out how to calm that down. A couple of their good hitters were down in the lineup. They kind of snuck them in there. So we have to figure out how to mitigate that. This is only half of the business. We’ll practice tomorrow and we’ll be right back at it on Wednesday. We’re going to roll out our best and try to win an [outright] league title.”
SPONSORS
SHEWARD-FULKS INSURANCE
HOMELAND CREDIT UNION
