Small ball and speed got the Osbourn Park softball team the lead and junior pitcher Sam Borrayo shut the door the rest of the way as the Yellow Jackets beat the visiting Woodbridge Vikings 3-2 in the Class 6, Region B semifinals.
After a throwing error in the fourth inning by Borrayo set the stage for a two-run fourth inning by the Vikings, the 2023 first-team All-Cedar Run District selection retired the final 11 batters she faced. Battery mate Cordia Hirschy collected two of the Yellow Jackets' eight stolen bases and had a pair of RBI singles, including the tie-breaking hit over the head of Woodbridge first baseman Alyssa Casselle in the fifth.
"I tell them think small and big things will happen," OP softball coach Patrick DeRosa said. "That is what I have been preaching to them all throughout the playoffs and I am glad to see she [Hirschy] did that. And Sam has been huge for us this season."
"She really knows how to control the game when it gets tough," Hirschy said of Borrayo, who tallied 10 strikeouts. "She knows how to come back. She never lets it get to her."
The victory earned OP (19-4) a berth in the state tournament for the second time in the last three years. The Yellow Jackets host the winner of the John Champe-Colgan matchup on Thursday in the 6 p.m. region final.
For the defending region champion Vikings (17-6), it was a disappointing ending to a tremendous season. And they didn't go down without a fight.
Down 2-0 in the top of the fourth inning, Woodbridge tied the score on a throwing error by Borrayo and a subsequent safety squeeze bunt by Kylie Barbier. Borrayo knocked down a liner off the bat of Bobbi Tate after Grace Clary led off the inning with the Vikings' first hit. However, Borrayo's attempt to get Clary at second base for the force out sailed into center field, allowing Clary to score and Tate to move to third base. Tate then scored on Barbier's bunt.
However, in the end, Borrayo and the Yellow Jackets' aggressiveness on the basepaths were too much for Woodbridge pitcher Jeri Tate and her sister, freshman catcher Bobbi Tate.
"We talked about how they were going to be the most aggressive team we have played all year and they were," Woodbridge coach Nicole Belk said. "We kept them off the bases as much as we could so I will take that as a win as well."
Jeri Tate retired the first six Yellow Jacket hitters she faced before Madison Brewer started the third with a base hit to right field. Brewer was forced at second on a field's choice grounder by Mia Gamble, who subsequently stole second and went to third base on a pitch that got away from Bobbi Tate. After a walk to Hayden Menefee put runners at first and third, Hirschy lined a single to center to score the game's first run. Menefee stole third and scored on a wild pitch by Jeri Tate for OP's second run.
DeRosa said he's excited with the prospect of playing in another regional championship -- his fifth in nine seasons -- and hopes his team will rise to the occasion once again. OP won the Region B title in 2021.
"I hope the moment doesn't get too big for them," DeRosa said. "I am proud of them and looking forward to Thursday, Colgan or Champe. Both [are] good teams so it will be a test for us."
"2022 regional champs versus 2021 regional champs," Belk said of Tuesday's loss. "We were excited for this game. ...If we are going to go out, we wanted to play a tough team like this."
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