CAVALIERS: 9

Cougars Scratch the Cavaliers

In their third regular season game, the Oakton Cougars collected their first win of the season, pulling ahead of the Woodson Cavaliers in the last inning of a time-limit-shortened game.  The game was played at Hayfield Secondary School as the first game of a Saturday double header in the annual Hayfield Spring Tournament, and the Cougars were home team based on a coin toss.  Due to tournament time limits, the game concluded after four innings.

In the first inning, the Cougar defense held the Cavaliers scoreless, and the Cougar offense put three runs on the scoreboard to take the early lead.  Left fielder Linda Lyons started things off with a single to the SS-3B gap, and then stole second base.  Marissa Sanzone drove in Lyons with a single to the left-center field gap, advancing to second when the Cavalier center fielder threw home to try to put out Lyons.  Second baseman Danni Nicholls walked next, and both Sanzone and Nicholls advanced a base on a wild pitch.  Right fielder Georgia Brandt reached on a Woodson error, and Sanzone scored the second run on the same play.  Allie Welham came up next and made a heads-up play on a dropped-third-strike passed ball, reaching first to load the bases.  Third baseman Rachel Lee was then hit by a pitch, bringing in Nicholls for the third run.

Woodson answered back in the top of the second inning, scoring six runs on seven hits, including a homerun and two doubles, which made the score 6 to 3.  In the bottom of the inning, the Cougars kept putting runs on the scoreboard to chip away at the Cavalier’s lead.  Lyons, relief pitcher Brittany Thompson, and Sanzone walked to load the bases.  Then Nicholls slashed an RBI grounder to the Woodson second baseman, bringing in Lyons.  Brandt reached on an infield single, loading the bases again, and Thompson then scored on a wild pitch to bring the Cougars within one run at 6 to 5.

Woodson stretched their lead to 9 – 5 in the top of the third inning by scoring three runs on three singles, aided by two Cougar errors and two wild pitches.  Despite the defensive mistakes, the Cougars continued putting runs on the scoreboard and took away the Cavalier’s lead.  In the bottom of the third, center fielder Emily Kamienski, first baseman Katie Edwards, and shortstop Sami Bassett loaded the bases with walks.  Lyons drove in Kamienski with an infield grounder and also reached first when the Cavalier first baseman made an error.  Edwards also scored on the play.  Pitcher Taylor Fay hit an RBI grounder to the Cavalier shortstop, bringing in Bassett, and Sanzone did the same, bringing in Lyons.  The Cougars had tied the score 9 – 9 when the inning ended.

Woodson’s first batter in the fourth inning smashed what looked to be a double into the left-center field gap.  Center fielder Emily Kamienski, however, had other ideas, making a spectacular, over-the-shoulder catch while running back to her right toward the outfield fence.  Fay struck out the next batter, and a ground out two batters later kept Woodson scoreless for the inning.

In what turned out to be their final at bat due to the time limit, the Cougars put up the two winning runs in the bottom of the inning.  Brandt and Welham walked, and Kamienski put them on third and second bases with a sacrifice bunt.  Brandt scored on a wild pitch and Welham was driven in by Bassett hitting a single into center field.

The fifth inning was started and the Cavaliers put up several runs.  But time ran out before the Cougars had a chance to complete their at-bat in the bottom of the inning, so the score reverted back to the fourth inning score, for an 11-9 Cougars win.