del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook
What's this?
But with Derryfield's strong bats constantly ready to explode for a big inning, Hinsdale never got comfortable, and the Pacers were forced to bear down in the seventh, holding on for a 14-8 victory Wednesday in Hinsdale.
"We give (Derryfield) a lot of respect. They're a good team," Pacers coach Guy Pagella said. "They've got some good, strong hitters over there. It could turn at any moment."
Hinsdale (5-2) kept itself on top throughout by capitalizing on some spotty Cougar fielding, with Derryfield (4-5) committing eight errors in the contest. Hinsdale made it all the way to the fourth inning, holding a 6-3 lead, before getting its first hit.
After scoring one run in the first on a walk and two errors, Hinsdale opened it up for four in the second. Two straight walks to the leadoff hitters -- Kayla Matuszewski and Amanda McCarthy -- and a wild pitch put two in scoring position with no outs. Derryfield pitcher Alyssa Attar got the next batter to hit into a line-out-tag-out double play,
It seemed like the inning was over when Courtney Sanville hit a grounder to the shortstop, but a long throw past the first baseman allowed Matuszewski to score and Sanville to reach second safely. A wild pitch and another walk put runners on the corners and brought a new Cougar pitcher, Kat DiPastina, but two errors and a pair of walks brought in three more runs in the inning and gave the Pacers a 5-0 advantage.
However, Derryfield showed how dangerous it is in the top of the third, stringing together a double and a triple for one run. That was followed by a two-run inside-the-park home run for catcher Ann DiPastina to cut Hinsdale's lead to two.
The Pacers opened it up again in the next three innings, capitalizing on seven hits and four errors to get the 14-4 lead.
"We just keep battling. I tell them to not give up until the out is made," Pagella said of his team's ability to take advantage of any opportunity. "We've been in games where we've been up 16 or 17 runs and then lost it, so it could happen at any moment."
It happened in the top of the seventh. Matuszewski, who pitched all seven innings, struck out the leadoff hitter Kat DiPastina, but a passed ball sent her to first. A stolen base and wild pitch later had her at third, and Anna Mokas knocked her in with a single up the middle. Two more hits brought Mokas home and an error brought in another one. Lauren Satkwich hit a single into center field that brought the score to 14-8 and Pagella took the opportunity to visit his pitcher, who ended up allowing nine hits and four walks while striking out six.
"I brought her over and I just told her relax. She worries about people making mistakes, so I told her to keep playing her game. There are eight people behind you; let them do the work," he said. "She's been pitching a lot. She pitched seven innings on Monday and then she had to go again today. We're facing tough teams. It's not like she can just ease up during the game. She had to come back hard in that last inning."
With the bases loaded and no outs, Matuszewski got Allie Cohen to ground the ball back to her. She threw to Sanville at home to get the force out, and Sanville attempted to get Cohen out with the double play. Although Cohen beat the throw to first, first baseman Paige Bedard had the presence of mind to throw it back to Sanville, who caught the next runner between third and home. A tag-out by third baseman Brittany Young gave Matuszewski two outs and she came back to strike out the following hitter and finish the game.
Offensively, Young had a strong day for Hinsdale, getting two hits, including a double, knocking in a run and scoring twice. Nicole Butler also hit a double while scoring two runs and getting one RBI. Sanville led the team in scoring three runs.
The Pacers will try to keep their strong season going on Friday, when they play Sunapee at Hinsdale at 4 p.m.
Kerri Fleming can be reached at kfleming@reformer.com, or 802-254-2311, ext. 163.
