Silverdale Baptist's Emily Harkleroad attempts a bunt in an earlier win against Red Bank in the Yellow Jacket Classic. The Lady Seahawks (15-1) lost for the first time this season as Marion County (12-2-1) edged them by an 8-6 score in the championship game.
photo by M.A. Locke
The Marion County Lady Warriors didn't have much to show for the first five innings, but that wasn't the case for the last two.
Overcoming a three-run deficit at Lookout Valley's O'Mary-Conard Field, the Lady Warriors saved their best for last and they have the championship plaque for the 2016 Yellow Jacket Classic to show for it with Saturday afternoon's 8-6 victory over the Silverdale Lady Seahawks.
The Lady Warriors improve to 12-2-1 with the win while the Lady Seahawks are now 15-1 after Saturday's loss.
"What a comeback that was," said Marion County coach Randy Ellis after his team rose from near defeat to capture a thrilling victory.
"We knew that we just had to stay close, but Erin O'Leary's big hit got us rolling and everyone stepped up after that. This was a big hump that we needed to get over, but Harlie did a great job on the mound as she kept us in the game," he praised Harlie Jordan, a gutsy southpaw who earned the win in the championship game.
"We were finally able to get a few timely hits as the bats came to life in the sixth," Ellis added.
The game started out as a pitcher's dual between Marion's Jordan and Silverdale's Emily Harkleroad.
Lindsey Newell gave the Lady Seahawks a lead with a two-run homer in the fourth and she made it 3-0 with a run-scoring single in the fifth. She later capped off a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with a three-run homer in the seventh, but it simply wasn't enough to overcome Marion's lead.
The Lady Warriors sent 10 hitters to the plate in the sixth and that's where they took the lead with six runs on five hits and two hit batters.
Taylor Roberts got hit with a pitch to lead things off before Chloe Campbell and Savannah Thomas had back-to-back singles to load the bases.
O'Leary, who had struck out swinging in her previous at-bat, roped a 1-2 pitch into the corner in left and courtesy runner Bri Havner scored ahead of Campbell with the first two runs.
A groundout by Savannah Parker knotted the score at 3-3 before Jordan helped her own cause with a run-scoring triple. Breanna Vinson got hit by a pitch and later scored when Mackayla Dalton lined a two-run double into the right-field corner as that 3-0 deficit turned into a 6-3 lead.
Taylor Moran, who relieved Harkleroad in the seventh, got two quick outs before the Lady Warriors struck again.
Campbell singled and advanced to second when Thomas reached on an infield error. O'Leary then came through with her second two-run hit in as many innings as that three-run lead stretched to five.
As it turned out, that last two-run single proved to be the winning runs.
Harkleroad smacked a two-out double in the bottom of the seventh and Moran walked to put two runners on before Newell crushed the first pitch for a three-run homer to dead center. Jordan then coaxed Shelby Duggard into an innocent pop to first to end the game.
Jordan was the winning pitcher after going the distance and allowing six runs on nine hits. She finished the game with seven strikeouts and one walk.
She was all smiles when the game ended.
"I think I did okay out there, but I left a couple of pitches hanging," she expressed.
"Getting those six runs in the sixth was a real boost and helped me to relax, but I feel pretty good right now," she added.
O'Leary was another Marion player who was more than happy when the final out had been made.
"I struggled in my first two at-bats, but I had to step up and do something in the sixth as we were running out of time. There wasn't as much pressure at the start of the game, but it was quite nerve-wracking at the end. I'm just happy that we were able to come back," she suggested.
Silverdale coach Tim Couch is never happy over a loss, but he put things in perspective after his team's first defeat of the season.
"We just got beat by a good team. I'm not saying they're a better team than us, but they were today. They hit the ball well and they earned it. We didn't give it to them," he suggested.
"At this point in the season we don't have many days to practice, so you have to use games to get better. I like this team as they're a bunch of fighters. We may not the be the most talented team in town, but we'll battle you. I really think we needed a game like this to expose us to a little adversity," Couch concluded.
Both teams ended the game with nine hits.
Newell's four was tops for both teams while Parton was the only other Silverdale player with two.
Vinson, Campbell and O'Leary all had two hits for the Lady Warriors.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME SUMMARY
MARION CO. 000 006 2 -- 8 9 1
SILVERDALE 000 210 3 -- 6 9 2
Jordan and Thomas; Harkleroad, Moran (7) and Birchfield.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)