WASHBURN — Cosby sophomore Ella Hicks took a deep breath, stepped into the batter’s box and ripped a two-RBI double up the middle of the field at Washburn High School on Monday afternoon.
The runs tied Cosby with Washburn at 2-2, as Hicks slid into second before unleashing a celebratory yell toward the Cosby dugout.
Moments later, after she had stolen third, Hicks capitalized on a Washburn defensive error when she slid across home plate for a 3-2 lead.
That sequence opened the floodgates, as Cosby turned what had been a day of offensive struggles into a hitting clinic en route to a 6-2 win to wrap up district play.
In the process, Cosby also clinched a share of the regular season district title for the 2024 season.
“They’re gritty, and they’ve got some pride,” said Lady Eagles coach Mike Bryant after the victory. “They will do what it takes to grit out a win.”
Indeed Cosby did, with all six runs coming in the final two innings by way of smart base running and timely at-bats.
“That’s exactly what we want: to put pressure on defenses, and when they make mistakes, we have to make them pay for it,” said Bryant. “That’s the kind of ball we want to play.”
Cosby paired the offensive effort with a defensive stand, not allowing any more runs after Washburn put up two in the top of the first inning.
As always, Cosby ace Reese Michaels showed no emotion, battling through the early runs to shut out the Lady Pirates following the first inning.
“She’s just rock solid in showing no emotion, said Bryant. “No matter what the umpire is calling or anything, she tries to hit her spots. She and I were a little out of sync with one another early in the game, but after they got through the lineup, we understood what we needed to do, and it was all good.
“They got those two off me because of the pitches I called there, but once we saw what they were doing, she shut them down.”
Meanwhile, up until the aforementioned sixth inning, Cosby could not get anything going at the plate.
Michaels was left stranded on third base in the top of the first inning, while Shylee Weeks walked back to the dugout from second base after the top of the second inning.
The struggles continued from there, with Washburn pitcher Grayson Wolfenbarger dealing three straight strikeouts in the top of the fifth inning.
But to start the sixth, Michaels led off with a single before Kylee Cornwell advanced to first and stole second.
Meanwhile, Michaels had advanced to third, giving Cosby a prime setup when Hicks stepped to the plate.
But all that was forgotten for a moment, as the Washburn catcher threw the ball into the side of Hicks’ batting helmet.
The move was originally called interference on Cosby, but it was reversed after Bryant talked with both umpires amidst a brief and heated exchange between fans.
“Yes, Ella does get out of the box, but the catcher goes with her,” said Bryant in his postgame explanation. “And that is probably a trained move. I was trained that way, it’s called ‘stick it in her ear’ as you try to get that interference call. But (Hicks) was trying to be get completely out of the way, and the catcher followed her. She had a clear throwing lane from home plate to third, so to me, that was more on the catcher.”
“I don’t think the catcher was trying to do that, but from my vantage point, Ella was trying to get out of her way and it was coincidental contact,” he added. “I think it was one of those things to draw the call. (The catcher) kept backing up, like she was going to have to throw around Ella, but she didn’t have to throw around Ella, because Ella gave her a lane to throw.”
Once Bryant explained his reasoning and the umpires agreed, they spoke with the Washburn coach, who disagreed.
Still, the game resumed — and Hicks took quick advantage, putting the controversy behind her to make the game-tying hit.
“She’s still just a sophomore, but when she’s locked in, that whole family has grit and a good work ethic,” said Bryant. “So when she stepped in, I was sure she was going to do something with it. I just had that confidence in her.”
Bryant has a similar confidence in his players on the defensive side, and it was reflected in the bottom of the sixth.
Following two quick strikeouts from Michaels, a Washburn batter dropped a single behind second to put the tying run on base.
But Kylee Cornwell got the Lady Eagles out of a potential jam when she fired the next hit to first for the third out of the inning.
“Kylee’s a player. She can make those all day,” said Bryant of Cornwell, who struggled at the plate but came through defensively. “I heard it said best by Pete Rose: you take your bat to the plate and your glove to the field, and you can’t let them interfere with one another. I think that’s what she did.”
But in the top of the seventh inning, Cosby’s bats got plenty hot as the Lady Eagles pulled away.
Ava Krawczyk laid down a perfect bunt, then Nevaeh Deardorff knocked an RBI double to score Krawczyk for a 4-2 lead.
“And that gets us to the top of our lineup to do more damage,” said Bryant.
Indeed, Michaels followed that with an RBI triple to score Deardorff for a three-run advantage.
Finally, Cosby’s leadoff hitter sprinted home to cement the final margin at 6-2 before Cosby shut down the Lady Pirates in the bottom half.
“I’m thrilled with that execution, the way they did it,” said Bryant. “We feed off each other, off momentum. And when we’re focused like we did in the last few innings, that’s what we’re capable of.”
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