Published: May 12, 2008 04:08 pm            

Orioles win pitcher’s duel for county title

AVON — Locked in a pitching duel with Plainfield in Saturday’s county tournament final, the host Orioles needed a big hit. That offensive spark came in the top of the third, when junior Holly Wasmund broke a scoreless tie with an RBI double to deep center field. Plainfield battled back in the seventh inning with a rare triple play, but Avon held on to win, 1-0.

“We knew it was just going to be a matter of who got the hit and we got it at the right time,” Avon coach Jenny Shayotovich said. “Holly’s hit was huge. She was hitting the ball hard all day and that was just a great shot.”

Avon’s Jenny Esparza and Plainfield’s Dani Parrish both had solid outings on the mound. Esparza tossed 11 strikeouts and allowed three hits in seven innings, while in five innings, Parrish struck out four batters, giving up three hits.

“Jenny basically had to throw almost three games,” Shayotovich said. “She threw the Tri-West game, three or four innings in the Danville game, then came out and threw again. We tried to get her some rest. Their pitchers did a great job, Jenny did a great job, and we knew it was going to be a pitching battle.”

Jamie Lydick got on base for the Quakers in the bottom of the first by being hit by a pitch, but Plainfield didn’t record a hit until the bottom of the fourth, when Taryn Simpson drilled a grounder past second base for a single. Simpson advanced to second on a wild pitch, but Avon closed out the side when Esparza struck out Allison Holsclaw.

Neither team managed to get much offense going, but Plainfield put together a spectacular defensive effort in the top of the seventh. With two runners on base, Avon senior Mallory Pera flied out, Nikki Burris was tagged out at second, and Plainfield catcher Lauren Ratliff completed the triple play by tagging out Helen Rogers at home plate.

“That was a pretty good triple play,” Plainfield coach Brad Beaman said. “It wasn’t like it was on force outs, there was a catch and a few tag outs. That just shows you how close they are and how they trust each other to be there and get the outs.”

Energized by its defense, Plainfield’s offense came to life in the bottom of the seventh when Simpson ignited the Quaker crowd with a double to deep left field. Esparza stopped the rally, striking out two batters before Quaker Kelsey Ericksen popped out to end the game.

“I really thought it was going to come down to the end and it pretty much did,” Beaman said. “It could have gone either way. We were just proud of how we faced Esparza, who is one of the state’s top pitchers as far as I’m concerned. To play her as well as we did, I was happy.”

Due to inclement weather, the county tournament was moved from Tri-West to Avon.

“It was a long day for our girls,” Shayotovich said. “They found out yesterday that we were going to host, so it’s been a whirlwind of a lot of work in two days. It’s nice for our program, nice for our girls and nice for our town.”

        

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