Vestal pecked away at Horseheads through the middle innings Saturday, making a good bit of a hit apiece by four players in a 5-0 victory against Horseheads for Section 4’s Class AA softball championship at Greenlight Network Grand Slam Park.
Most significant offensive contribution was Kendall Brady’s two-run home run to make it 4-0 as part of a put-away three-run fifth. Given what pitcher Reilly Storer was cooking up in the circle, the Golden Bears were clearly on their way.
Storer, along with Brady one of five seniors on the roster, permitted three hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out nine on a decidedly pitching-rich day displayed by winners in the Town of Dickinson. Sixty-four of her 84 pitches against 24 batters faced went for strikes.
The 20-0 Golden Bears will hit the road to oppose the champion from Section 1 or Section 9 in the quarterfinal round of state playoffs.
Horseheads’ first batter of the afternoon, Megan Wolf, beat out a grazed offering barely down the third-base line, and Sophia Bonnell followed with a well-earned base hit to left. Make that two batters and two hits for the Blue Raiders. Thereafter? A whole lot of Storer in charge.
The only other hit surrendered was Chloe Perritt’s grounded delivery to center, but she was batter No. 3 in a four-strikeout inning by Vestal’s ace – who proceeded to strike out Horseheads’ final batter of the game.
“My teammates always having my back, they were talking to me throughout the whole game,” Storer said. “We don’t ever really talk about, like, ‘Oh, you’re throwing a shutout.’ They’re always just supporting me, always saying, ‘You got this.’ And I really appreciate their wholehearted support.”
Oh, about that changeup called upon so timely but frequently, the one that made for so many ill-timed swings?
“I work very, very hard to make sure that they are a good distances away from each other so I can get swings and misses like I did today,” she said. OK, but ever catch yourself having a muffled chuckle at the results? “No, it’s a part of the game. Sometimes I feel bad because they are so far (ahead of it), but it’s part of the game. Some girls learn to hit my changeup pretty quickly.”
Bears break through
Vestal, scoreless with four strikeouts through the first two innings against Wolf, went ahead for keeps on a third-inning gift from Horseheads. Aubrey Rogers dropped a bunt left that, well, turned into a mess of defense that allowed Allie Policare to score from first and Rogers to scoot along to third.
After a fourth-inning run scored on a two-out wild pitch, Brady muscled one of the no-doubt variety over the fence in left one batter after Maggie Costello singled to right in the fifth. The Bears proceeded to a fifth run on a bases-loaded bunt by Allessandra Carter.
From Vestal coach Vickie Sax
“I think today they were able to bring it together. Horseheads, really impressed with them, they really brought their A-game and I think that it showed us that we need to be prepared and step up and everyone needs to be able to play their roles. Today it really mattered.”
Formula behind the shutout? “Mental toughness, everyone staying in the moment, being able to execute under pressure. We have talked all season about, just play your role. You don’t have to do it all, you don’t have to carry this team, everyone just needs to do their part – and that’s exactly what you saw today. Some people got the bunt down, others made big plays and Reilly certainly came through and did her job.”
Oh, that 20-0 record? “We don’t look at that. We talk about game-by-game. … The record of 20 straight, we don’t even think about that, Just prepare one game at a time.”
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