With first place on the line, Sherwood and Glencoe brought their A-games, but one played cleaner than the other and that was the difference.
Sherwood (17-2) rode the hot hand of pitcher Destiny Cornwell while taking advantage of a couple key Crimson Tide miscues en route to a 1-0 win on Wednesday evening, April 24, at Sherwood High School.
Cornwell entered the game midway through the first inning after starting Bowmen pitcher Faith McHill was struck in the face by a sharp line drive off the bat of Glencoe’s Makena Petrick. Thankfully, McHill’s facemask did it’s job, but the senior was forced from the game and Cornwell was called to action.
The junior was more than up to the task, allowing just three hits while striking out seven in 6.1 shutout innings.
Sherwood head coach Alex Flores said she couldn’t help but be impressed with Cornwell, as well as the rest of her team, regarding how she and they handled the game in the wake of seeing their teammate fall is such a way, along with how they’ve progressed in that manner over the course of the year.
“I could see some anxiousness in her after what happened, but I saw her settle in and pitch great,” Flores said. “I’m just extremely proud of how she, and really all these girls have grown mentally over the season.”
The game had added importance after the Tide knocked off preseason favorite and No. 8-ranked McMinnville a night prior, but Flores said she always expected a battle with Glencoe (12-7) based on what they bring to the table from a player and coaching perspective.
“This is a big win,” Flores said. “I was a little more anxious about it because I know how good of a coach Wade (Sahlfeld) is and really respect him. And their players buy into what he has and are top-tier competitors.”
The game’s only run came in the bottom of the first inning when the Bowmen got a leadoff hit from sophomore outfielder Camryn Knight, then capitalized on a couple Glencoe miscues that allowed Knight to score on a McKenna Parmelee groundball.
To the contrary, Sherwood seemed to make all the routine and difficult defensive plays when it needed them, including in both the first and second innings when the Tide had runners in scoring position. That fact didn’t fall lightly on Flores who said that while confident in her defense, it was particularly impressive today — especially in the infield with players like third baseman Elaina Harris, shortstop Payton Abiley, second baseman Daisha Cornwell, and first baseman Lili Silva.
“I think our team has played really well on defense, but today I shouted out our corners and middles,” Flores said. “They’ve all been awesome as a whole in the infield, but today to see them lean on each other and hear them verbalize…that was new today. So, that was great to see.”
Glencoe head coach Wade Sahlfeld didn’t seem bothered by his team’s defensive hiccups for he too is ultimately confident in their ability to regularly make those plays. But he said it’s less about their capability, and more about confidence in that ability that they need to work on.
“Errors are going to happen, it’s just a matter of realizing how good we actually are and working through it,” Sahlfeld said. “I’ve just got to work harder at getting them more comfortable in those situations.”
Offensively, Glencoe outhit Sherwood 5-4, with credit going to Tide starting pitcher Bailey Farrimond who was every bit of Cornwell’s equal in the game, allowing just four hits while striking out three and walking one. But Sahlfeld said the numbers didn’t really tell the whole story, for he thought his team was doing a lot right at the plate despite what appeared to be a lack of production.
“We were hitting the living tar out of the ball,” Sahlfeld said. “We were squaring everything up, but it was just right at them. So, offensively we just needed a break here or there and we were right in that game.”
And for that reason the Tide were far from satisfied.
“They’re disappointed because they know how hard they’ve worked and how close they are,” Sahlfeld said. “But sometimes that doesn’t always translate right away. So, we’ve got to move on to the next one and keep working.”
Meanwhile, Sherwood has won five straight since suffering their first and only losses of the season, back-to-back defeats to Sunset and Westview. Flores said those losses provided her team some perspective, and since they’ve done all the right things to get back to where she and they want to be — on and off the field.
“When you’re winning 12 games in a row, it’s easy to be on cloud-nine and get full of yourself,” Flores said. “Since the losses, they’ve bounced back, composed themselves and had a chip on their shoulder. Every single day these girls are learning to love and care for each other, and that’s what matters to me. That they’re going to be good humans moving forward.”
Glencoe’s Kendyl Mishler finished 2-for-3, while Petrick, Tuesday Mevis, and Kalli Farimond all had hits for the Tide.
Sherwood hits came from Knight, Parmelee, Silva and Jordyn Henderson.
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