Members of Silverdale and Baylor softball teams gather to pray after their game on Tuesday. The Lady Seahawks downed the Lady Red Raiders 3-2 in a hard-fought battle between the two defending state champions.
photo by Joy Fisk
You know you are in for a great game when the softball powerhouses of Baylor and Silverdale compete. On Tuesday night, Baylor, last year’s TSSAA Division II-AA state champion squared off against Silverdale, last year’s TSSAA Division II-A state champion, in a close game that ended with a win for the Seahawks. Both teams seemed to thrive off pressure as every run of the game followed two outs.
Silverdale pitcher Bita Cox kept Baylor from scoring in the first inning, and then after two outs, the Seahawks came out swinging with two runs off a homerun by senior catcher Gabbie Hensley, allowing Heidi Bryant, who was at first base, to score.
Hensley has committed to play at Kentucky, and tonight she celebrated her thousandth inning as a catcher at Silverdale.
After a scoreless second inning, Baylor responded in the third inning with a pair of doubles, following two outs once again, ending in a run by Olivia Elkhill off a line drive from Chloe Cunningham. After another scoreless inning, Baylor tied it up with a homerun by Elkhill in the top of the fifth. Silverdale answered with a triple by Heidi Bryant followed by a double by Jaliyah Whittaker off a line drive to center field, allowing Bryant to score, the last run of the game.
After the game, the Red Raiders’ head coach Kelli Smith was positive about her team’s performance. “I mean, obviously two great programs. I got a lot of respect for Jackie and her program and what she does. It's always gonna be a battle and a great game, and it was, and it was kind of the tale of two outs, you know. I think they scored their runs with two outs; we scored our runs with two outs…great grit and courage and determination, fight out of both teams.”
Baylor came into the game with several disadvantages including some missing eighth grade players currently on a school trip and a pitcher who fought through an injury to pitch. Smith said, “Just really proud of how our girls fought today...excited about this group- we’re very young, we only have one player from last year's team in the position from last year's team, we graduated five seniors who are playing D-1 this year.” She’s optimistic about the season, saying she’s seen a lot of growth from her players. “These kids are coming to practice every day working hard. They bought in and I'm really pleased to see the progression that we've had so far.”
Head coach for the Seahawks, Jackie Freelend, said the game could have gone either way. “It was a close game. It was a fight. It's always a close game with Baylor. They're a great team. They're well coached. So we know coming out here that's gonna be good competition, and that's why we like to play these games. It makes us better.” When asked what she thought gave SBA the edge tonight, Freelend said, “Timely hitting, I think, and then I feel like in the last few innings, Bita [Cox] really stepped up and…I don't think they scored the last few innings.”
The players from both teams were also positive about the game and appreciated the tough competition. Olivia Elkhill, a junior left fielder from Baylor and new to the team this year, had a great night, with two runs on three at bats, including her homerun in the fifth inning. She acknowledged the adversity the team was fighting tonight missing some players and that they went into the game knowing they were up against a good team. She also praised her coach. “Coach Smith is amazing, and just the whole team atmosphere is amazing and everyone’s just so great. I love it.”
Silverdale’s catcher Gabbie Hensley said she went into the game feeling relaxed. “I just felt confident in how we were gonna play and we had a great weekend, so I felt like we could roll into it this week and keep that up.” She admitted she loves playing Baylor. “It's not a rivalry, but it's just fun competition. We know how to push each other.”
Mike Connor, Silverdale’s Athletic Director, said “Jackie's doing a great job, taking the players that she has and developing them.” He feels the team has great chemistry. “ I think the culture that she's trying to establish here in the last five years, obviously, has led to the results that they've had. I mean, it's really about their growth as players personally and as athletes and then teaching them concepts about being more for each other. I mean, that's what mudita's all about, and that's what Jackie's done a great job with.”
MuditaI, painted on the Seahawks’ dugout, is a term that has come to mean putting the team above yourself and rejoicing in the success of others. While both Baylor and Silverdale seem to enjoy testing one another on the field, it seems that they are also aware that each team makes the other better, pushing them to be their very best.
BAYLOR 001 010 0 – 2 5 1
SILVERDALE 200 010 x – 3 5 0
Bagley, Wallington (6); Cox