With home field on the line for the Group A Division 1 quarterfinals on the line in the Region B championship, Madison County found itself in another scoreless tie late in the game. The previous two games against William Campbell and Central Lunenburg with 1-0 wins. This time around the Mountaineers offense sprang too and found a way to life easy thanks to a rally in the sixth. The run proved to more than enough, and although weather cut the game down to a six inning affair, Madison now gets to play on its own field for the first round of the state tournament after the 5-0 win.
“They just started hitting,” said Mountaineers coach Jesse Yowell. “Against them we knew we just had to get a little pressure with some base runners. We heard you mad to make them make errors, but that didn’t happen. We just hit the ball well. Instead of bunting there we just said that we were going to hit or we were going to go home.”
Madison sophomore Lauren Seale finished off an incredible week where she threw a third complete game shutout. The pitcher had five strikeouts to pump up her tournament total to 34 K’s. Seale gave up just up two hits, and outside of the batters she sat down, each other Eagle batter was put out by the Mountaineers infield.
“My high fastball is working a lot, everyone’s been swinging at it,” Seal said. “On the outside and inside, I’ve been hitting my spots so that’s pretty much all I’m doing.”
Her coach had the same thing to say of her week in the circle.
“Her fastball, she’s hitting the spot whether it’s high, low, in or out,” Yowell said. “The way she throws and twists her wrist, there’s a natural curve on every pitch so the ball is moving. And when she gets ahead (of the count) we don’t pitch to them, we pitch around. She’s been great.”
With both offenses quiet to start, Madison plated all its runners in the top of the sixth starting with a leadoff single from Kerri Carpenter followed by a single from Seale in the next at bat. Two batters later Sam Atwell loaded the bases on a single. Kaitlyn Aylor brought in two runners on double to break the tie. Then Reagan Clatterbaugh, who’s RBI triple provided the game winning run in the Region B semifinals, came through once again with an extra basehit, this time a 2-run double. Brittany Colvin then drove in a run on an RBI ground out to make it 5-0.
“Once we get the lead we all feel relieved,” Seale said. “We know we have it to get through the rest of the game.”
Severe weather was in the background all game, but finally made its presence felt in the bottom of the sixth. The Mountaineers were able to get out of the bottom half of the inning but play was suspended in the top seventh and with the game unable to resume, it was called.
Offensively, Casey Racer finished the game 2 for 4. Carpenter, Seale, Atwell, Clatterbaugh and Anna Kelliher were each 1 for 3. Aylor and Colvin were both 2 for 3.
Madison will host the loser of the Region A finals between Rappahannock and Chincoteague on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
