Drury Busts out in Fifth, Blows by Wahconah
.jpg) Arianna Hilchey, for more photos CLICK HERE |
Then, like an unexpected twist in a suspense movie, Drury flipped the script and scored 12 runs in one inning. Mary Ann Maroni's squad got to Warriors starter Becca Grunow for nine hits and two walks in the bottom of the fifth, scoring 12 times on its way to a 14-9 win at home. After allowing eight runs over the first two innings of play, starter Cat Record and the Blue Devils' defense buckled down the rest of the game, surrendering just one more run over the final five frames.
"It was the story of two ball games," Maroni said. "Wahconah owned the first three innings, scoring nine runs on nine sharply-hit balls. It was pretty bleak looking at that point in time, but we chipped away in the third and fourth innings before our bats came alive in the fifth. We never looked back, and the girls were able to take their confidence out to the defensive part of the game and allowed only two more hits, getting the Wahconah side out in both the fourth and fifth [innings]."
It was a nice comeback for Record, who started off pretty shaky in the first inning. The Warriors (2-2) led off with three singles in a row and jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead. The visitors kept the pressure on in the next frame, using a pair of singles to get two runners on before Bizzy King smacked a monster three-run home run over the fence in left field. Wahconah would score two more times before the inning was through and added a run in the third inning to open a 9-0 lead.
Drury (3-0) got a run back in the bottom half of third inning, however, but it saved most of its damage for the fifth. With one out already recorded, junior Katie Hancock started things off with a single. Eight more hits, an error and two walks followed, allowing the Devils to open up a 14-9 edge. Junior Amanda Ramsdell had her second straight solid game at the plate, going 3 for 4 with three RBI and a triple. Eighth-grader Arianna Hilchey added a double, single and two runs batted in for Drury, which also got two hits apiece from Record and junior Allison Gageant.
"This was an important win for a very young team, who proved to themselves that they can play with the best of them," Maroni said. "Wahconah is a quality team."
King, Gabby Lavinio and Sara Lussier each had two hits for the Warriors. Record allowed six earned runs on 11 hits, striking out three and walking three to improve to 3-0 on the season.
The Devils next host Mount Anthony at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.