Softball slides into third place
Posted on March 17, 2008
Through five innings JMU was held hitless, trailing 4-1 and on the verge of finishing last in its own tournament. Then, in the bottom of the sixth inning, its bats came alive.
The Dukes scored six runs in the inning and won 7-4 against Canisius on Sunday in the consolation game of the JMU/Days Inn Invitational.
Outfielder Kaitlyn Wernsing got the rally started for the Dukes with the first hit of the day. Her left-side grounder got through between the third baseman and shortstop and left the Dukes with runners on first and second with one out. A Katie Cochran sacrifice fly came two batters later that scored pinch runner Megan Forbes to bring the score within two.
With Madison then trailing 4-2, sophomore outfielder Courtney Simons came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. A drive she sent to right center field bounced off of the Canisius center fielder’s glove. Simons cleared the bases and ended up at third, JMU then leading 5-4.
The Dukes added two valuable insurance runs one batter later when a line drive off the bat of third baseman Amber Kirk cleared the left field wall.
“I had struck out before that and had a really bad hit so I felt like I needed to do something at the plate,” junior Kirk said. “I just didn’t think about it and I swung.”
While JMU came away with a victory, it was still disturbing for both coaches and players that its offense was stagnant for so much of the game.
“Our offense hasn’t really gotten on track lately and it’s frustrating,” coach Katie Flynn said. “Offensively we’ve got a lot of work to do, but I was very pleased with what we were able to [in the bottom of the sixth] and come away with the W.”
“I don’t know [why we couldn’t get a hit until the sixth inning]. We just weren’t there today as a team today. But finally, after the coaches yelling at us for a while, we were able to pull through.”
Junior Jenny Clohan started for Madison and threw four innings while earning the no decision. She allowed three runs on six hits, and struck out three Golden Griffins.
JMU’s pitching staff was depleted by injuries over the past week as it ended the tournament with just two available pitchers, Clohan and junior Shannon Outman. In three appearances Outman threw ten total innings while giving up 13 hits and eight earned runs.
Sunday’s start was Clohan’s fifth appearance in five games since Friday. In the tournament she amassed 20.2 innings, including complete-game victories over Pittsburgh and Akron. She surrendered only four earned runs, while striking out 26 of her opponents over the weekend.
By the expectations she has set, Clohan’s performance Sunday was sub-par. But her shakiness can be contributed to the fatigue she has accumulated from her high inning total this weekend.
“Right now we’re really thin at pitcher with Branden Moss and Meredith Felts out. I was very happy [Clohan] gave us four innings. That’s not her best outing, but she gutted it out, gave us four innings and Outman gave us three. Pitchers did their job from our perspective.”
It was Madison’s first come-back victory of the season, and gives the team confidence to prevail in any similar future situation.
“We realize now that we’re a team that can come back no matter what and no matter how far down we are,” the third baseman said. “Even in the sixth or seventh inning we can come back.”
In the JMU/Days Inn Invitation Tournament JMU finished 4-1.
