3A SOFTBALL STATE TOURNAMENT : Elkins pitcher helps herself at plate
Posted on Saturday, May 10, 2008
PINE BLUFF — Amber Caywood struck out nine batters and drove in a pair of runs Friday to lead defending state champion Elkins to a 9-1 victory over Corning in the first round of the Class 3 A state tournament Friday at Regional Park.
Caywood scattered four hits over seven innings and allowed only two runners past second base after the first inning.
“Amber was a little conservative, and after that she opened up a little with her pitches,” Elkins Coach Paula Wheeler said. “Amber has been phenomenal all year.” The Lady Elks (27-2 ) surrendered their first run of the postseason in the first inning against Corning (20-15 ) after five shutouts in the district and regional tournaments.
Corning’s Felicia Woodard led off the game with a triple to left field and scored one batter later when Linsdey George grounded out to second base.
“Today might not have been [Caywood’s ] best at the start of the game, but in the second inning she kicked it into gear,” Wheeler said.
Elkins’ deficit didn’t last long as the Lady Elks scored two runs on three hits in the bottom of the first inning.
Hannah Powers, who went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI, singled before Carly Powers drove her in with a double to center field. Caywood followed with an RBI single that scored Carly Powers and gave the Lady Elks a 2-1 lead they never relinquished.
Elkins, which beat Pottsville 9-2 to claim the Class 3 A title a year ago, hasn’t lost since April 17, when the Lady Elks fell to Class 4 A Gentry.
“It’s a lot of pressure,” Wheeler said. “Everybody is gunning to beat you. [The Lady Elks ] have a lot of pressure on them, but they’ve been handling it real well.” The Lady Elks pulled away in the third inning when they took advantage of two errors to score three runs on no hits for a 5-1 lead. Hannah Powers and Kayleigh Harriman scored Elkins’ first runs of the inning on a wild pitch from Rachel George. Morgan Strong drove in the third run on a sacrifice fly to center field.
Elkins added four more runs when it opened the fourth inning with three consecutive singles, forcing Corning to replace Rachel George on the mound with Woodward.
Rachel George pitched the first three innings, giving up 8 runs and 7 hits with 1 strikeout and 1 walk. She started the fourth inning but gave up hits to Holly Dingledine, Maddie Divis and Hannah Powers to lead off the inning.
Woodard gave up 2 hits and 1 run in 2 innings on the mound before giving way to Lindsey George, who pitched the bottom of the sixth and retired the Lady Elks in order on three consecutive groundouts.
“We had great pitching,” Corning Coach Caleb Thomas said. “We made some mistakes that cost us a few runs, and we couldn’t overcome it.”
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