Sports Update
Small ball, Big results: Lionettes net decisive district win over Lady Bulldogs
Photo courtesy of Rog Pachuta / buzzzphotos.com – McKinney moved to 2-2 in district by edging McKinney North, 2-1, in the first of two meetings between the intra-city rivals. This will be the last season for at least two years the teams are in the same district.
By Andrew Snyder, asnyder@starlocalnews.com
After bashing together a 14-13 contest in their final meeting last season, the McKinney and McKinney North softball teams worked a different sort of magic on Friday in their first district game of the 2011-2012 season.
The Lionettes (10-12, 2-2 in District 10-4A) struck for the winning run in the bottom of the seventh to win the pitcher's duel, 2-1, and earn their third consecutive district victory over the Lady Bulldogs (3-1 in 10-4A).
“I knew it was going to be two good pitchers going after one another,” said Jeremy Greenway, McKinney head coach. “Neither one of us has put up a lot of runs all year long, so I thought it was going to be a low-scoring game.”
The matchup lived up to its billing largely thanks to McKinney sophomore hurler Chelsea Thomas and North freshman Celeste Verdolivo, who fought across seven innings with just one earned run between them. That run belonged to Verdolivo, who took the loss after walking two, striking out three and allowing seven hits in as many innings of work.
Thomas got the win for a superb performance that saw her strike out six, walk three and give up three hits but no runs. She also brought in the Lionettes' first run on an RBI double to break a scoreless tie that lasted until the bottom of the sixth inning.
“I was happy with [the way I pitched],” Thomas said. “Every time I come out here I give it my all.
“I just tried to work the plate, to keep them off balance and let them hit little dribblers to have my defense help me.”
A few close plays separated McKinney from a more decisive win. The Lionettes came close to scoring on their first at-bat when junior Courtney Derrick tried to stretch a triple all the way around but was caught at home – and that wasn't the only play at the plate that went against them.
In a scoreless fifth, freshman Sarah Appleby reached on a walk and was moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from junior Emily Marrs that was intended to jumpstart some run production. It almost did the trick, as Derrick laced a single with two outs to get Appleby moving. But once again, the Lady Bulldogs came through with the throw home to end the inning.
“We're always going to be aggressive when we get the opportunity,” Greenway said. “We're going to try to take every base that we can. Unfortunately, sometimes that's going to get us called out. But our defense generally comes through and Chelsea has been pitching her butt off in the circle, so we can take those chances.”
It wasn't until the bottom of the sixth that the shutout was broken on a two-out McKinney rally. Verdolivo pegged sophomore Jazsmin Nelson to land a runner on base and Thomas added to her contributions from the circle with an RBI double that bounced off the wall.
Carrying a one-run lead into the top of the seventh, the Lionettes needed just three more outs for the win. North needed a hit to stay alive and head coach Dan Sedgewick considered lifting designated player Kaitlin Kemp and giving Verdolivo a chance at the plate.
“The pitcher had great motivation to hit, but I decided to go with [Kemp] because she looked at me and said, 'Coach, I'm getting a hit,'” Sedgewick said.
Kemp drove the first pitch she saw for a double before being replaced by a pinch runner, who was moved over by sophomore Bailey Florence on the inning's second out. Desperate times continued for the Lady Bulldogs, as they were down to their final strike before an ill-timed error on an attempted pickoff at third allowed their runner to glide in and even the score.
“We've had some position chances that happened about a week ago,” Greenway said. “We're not 100 percent comfortable with one another just yet. It's kind of late in the year to make those changes, but we felt after our last tournament that we needed to make some changes. I think in the long run – looking ahead at the playoffs – we're going to come together at about the right time.”
But just as they had all game, the Lionettes recovered quickly. Gunning for a run to keep the game in regulation, they struck from the start when a single from Marrs and an error put runners on second and third with no outs. The bases were loaded, still with no outs, on the next at-bat as Derrick reached on a fielder's choice when North was forced to check the runners back instead of going for the play at first.
One more pristine defensive play from the Lady Bulldogs – a catch and laser shot from right field to keep the runners in place – could only keep McKinney back for a moment before senior Lauren McQuestion belted a walk-off single to score the winning run.
“That was really good,” Thomas said, “because I know we can come back from that stuff. We have a good enough team to do that.”
Outside of their lone run in the seventh, North couldn't find the offense to match McKinney.
“Our hitting wasn't here tonight for some reason,” Sedgewick said. “I don't know why. We've seen really, really good pitching this year and we've hit the ball against every one of them.”
Sedgewick added that his young team was “tight as a drum” because of the build-up that goes with playing McKinney.
“That's on me,” he said. “I've got to figure out a way to get them loose and ready for these types of games. That's what I always tell him. When they win it's on them, when they lose it's on me.”
The Lionettes will look to continue climbing the district standings with a win on the road over Richardson Pearce at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, while the Lady Bulldogs will host Highland Park for a 4 p.m. first pitch the same day.
The Lionettes (10-12, 2-2 in District 10-4A) struck for the winning run in the bottom of the seventh to win the pitcher's duel, 2-1, and earn their third consecutive district victory over the Lady Bulldogs (3-1 in 10-4A).
“I knew it was going to be two good pitchers going after one another,” said Jeremy Greenway, McKinney head coach. “Neither one of us has put up a lot of runs all year long, so I thought it was going to be a low-scoring game.”
The matchup lived up to its billing largely thanks to McKinney sophomore hurler Chelsea Thomas and North freshman Celeste Verdolivo, who fought across seven innings with just one earned run between them. That run belonged to Verdolivo, who took the loss after walking two, striking out three and allowing seven hits in as many innings of work.
Thomas got the win for a superb performance that saw her strike out six, walk three and give up three hits but no runs. She also brought in the Lionettes' first run on an RBI double to break a scoreless tie that lasted until the bottom of the sixth inning.
“I was happy with [the way I pitched],” Thomas said. “Every time I come out here I give it my all.
“I just tried to work the plate, to keep them off balance and let them hit little dribblers to have my defense help me.”
A few close plays separated McKinney from a more decisive win. The Lionettes came close to scoring on their first at-bat when junior Courtney Derrick tried to stretch a triple all the way around but was caught at home – and that wasn't the only play at the plate that went against them.
In a scoreless fifth, freshman Sarah Appleby reached on a walk and was moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from junior Emily Marrs that was intended to jumpstart some run production. It almost did the trick, as Derrick laced a single with two outs to get Appleby moving. But once again, the Lady Bulldogs came through with the throw home to end the inning.
“We're always going to be aggressive when we get the opportunity,” Greenway said. “We're going to try to take every base that we can. Unfortunately, sometimes that's going to get us called out. But our defense generally comes through and Chelsea has been pitching her butt off in the circle, so we can take those chances.”
It wasn't until the bottom of the sixth that the shutout was broken on a two-out McKinney rally. Verdolivo pegged sophomore Jazsmin Nelson to land a runner on base and Thomas added to her contributions from the circle with an RBI double that bounced off the wall.
Carrying a one-run lead into the top of the seventh, the Lionettes needed just three more outs for the win. North needed a hit to stay alive and head coach Dan Sedgewick considered lifting designated player Kaitlin Kemp and giving Verdolivo a chance at the plate.
“The pitcher had great motivation to hit, but I decided to go with [Kemp] because she looked at me and said, 'Coach, I'm getting a hit,'” Sedgewick said.
Kemp drove the first pitch she saw for a double before being replaced by a pinch runner, who was moved over by sophomore Bailey Florence on the inning's second out. Desperate times continued for the Lady Bulldogs, as they were down to their final strike before an ill-timed error on an attempted pickoff at third allowed their runner to glide in and even the score.
“We've had some position chances that happened about a week ago,” Greenway said. “We're not 100 percent comfortable with one another just yet. It's kind of late in the year to make those changes, but we felt after our last tournament that we needed to make some changes. I think in the long run – looking ahead at the playoffs – we're going to come together at about the right time.”
But just as they had all game, the Lionettes recovered quickly. Gunning for a run to keep the game in regulation, they struck from the start when a single from Marrs and an error put runners on second and third with no outs. The bases were loaded, still with no outs, on the next at-bat as Derrick reached on a fielder's choice when North was forced to check the runners back instead of going for the play at first.
One more pristine defensive play from the Lady Bulldogs – a catch and laser shot from right field to keep the runners in place – could only keep McKinney back for a moment before senior Lauren McQuestion belted a walk-off single to score the winning run.
“That was really good,” Thomas said, “because I know we can come back from that stuff. We have a good enough team to do that.”
Outside of their lone run in the seventh, North couldn't find the offense to match McKinney.
“Our hitting wasn't here tonight for some reason,” Sedgewick said. “I don't know why. We've seen really, really good pitching this year and we've hit the ball against every one of them.”
Sedgewick added that his young team was “tight as a drum” because of the build-up that goes with playing McKinney.
“That's on me,” he said. “I've got to figure out a way to get them loose and ready for these types of games. That's what I always tell him. When they win it's on them, when they lose it's on me.”
The Lionettes will look to continue climbing the district standings with a win on the road over Richardson Pearce at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, while the Lady Bulldogs will host Highland Park for a 4 p.m. first pitch the same day.
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