Girls rebound to drain Lewis River

Published 7:00 pm Saturday, July 23, 2005

After it was all said and done, manager Troy Greenfield exhaled.

“I can breathe again,” he said.

So can the team, their coaches and fans. After the Bainbridge softball All-Stars made several mistakes in a 8-5 loss to Woodinville West on Wednesday, they came back to defeat the Lewis River All-Stars 8-7 in an instant classic on Thursday to stay alive in the losers’ bracket in the 2005 majors state softball tournament.

Greenfield couldn’t stop smiling as he tried to put the win into words.

“It was as exciting a game as we’ve had in the last two years,” he said. “It was big for us to see how the girls would come back after a loss, and they came and just brought everything they had against a really strong team.”

All-Star pitcher Taylor Greenfield wasn’t as sturdy as she was on Sunday, but she went the six innings for the win, giving up just seven hits while striking out five and walking none.

“That team had a lot of strong hitters, especially at the top of their lineup, and I thought she battled,” manager Greenfield said. “We had some lapses in the field and she just came back even-keel, so I was proud of her.”

Both sides committed lapses in the field. In the first, Clara Dunn reached base on an error when the Woodinville first baseman dropped the ball. She was sacrificed to second via a bunt by Hailey Willmann, then advanced to third on a passed ball.

Caitlin McCormick hit a hard grounder to the Lewis River shortstop, who tried to throw home to get Dunn, but instead sent the ball over the catcher’s head. Larkin Sheldon then reached on an error as the throw to first was over the first baseman’s head, putting her on second.

After T.J. Pitts walked to load the bases, Kristi Worley hit a hard grounder that went off the second baseman’s knee, allowing pinch runner Sarah Dacquisto and Sheldon to score.

The All-Stars held on to the lead until the third, when the leadoff hitter for Lewis River singled, then worked her way to third as the ball was misplayed. Pitcher Greenfield struck out the next hitter and got the one after that to pop out to Pitts at third, but the next batter reached base when the throw went over Willmann’s head. The next batter singled to score both runners.

The District 6 champs took the lead in the fifth inning, scoring twice on three straight errors by the Bainbridge defense.

But the All-Stars came back as Worley stepped up and smoked a 3-1 pitch to the gravel warning track in left center field for a bases-loaded double, scoring Willmann and Sheldon. Ashley Hufnagle then hit one sharply down the third base line for a single, allowing Pitts and Worley to score.

“She and Worley came through in the clutch,” Troy Greenfield said. “She (Hufnagle) is one of our reserve players and she just stepped up and knocked in a couple of runs. They’ve got the guts to step up and do it.”

In the sixth, they scored three times on three hits, the biggest being a two-run double to tie the game back up.

In their half of the frame, the All-Stars caught a break as Dunn reached base via another error: her pop up was dropped by the Lewis River shortstop. She stole second, then reached third on a groundout by Willmann.

McCormick then hit a groundball that bounced out of the second baseman’s glove, allowing Dunn to score and close the curtain on the contest with a dramatic finish that sent the All-Stars racing out to mob McCormick halfway down the first base line.

“I didn’t know if they would come back in the sixth, but they did,” manager Greenfield said. “They’ve got more heart than a lot of folks I know.”

The All-Stars played yesterday against Marysville in another loser-out game. A win would put them in the first of back-to-back championship games at 3 p.m. Sunday, with another win needed Monday to claim the title.