Three-run seventh lifts Kennett past Coatesville
CALN—There’s nothing a pitcher or a coach loves more than to see a team’s bat’s come alive. Even better when it comes from the bottom of the order. Trailing 5-3 headed into the seventh, Kennett put together a three-run rally, kicked off by the number nine hitter, Maddie Sears, who sparked the rally with a one-out double. The Blue Demons (3-1, 2-0 American) then left the tying run stranded at third, and hung on for the 6-5 win over Coatesville (1-1, 1-1).
“I honestly thought that hit from Maddie was going over the fence,” said Kennett coach Lauren Gottstein. “She really hit it hard. I looked up and saw her standing at second, and couldn’t have been happier to get the inning going like that. The infield really stepped up and played great. We’re trying to put things together.”
Following Sears’ double, lead-off hitter Shannon Harvey (2-3, 3B, 2R, RBI) stepped to the plate a delivered a shot to deep right, plating Sears, while Harvey slid in with a triple. The Red Raiders out number two when starter Ashlynn Sherman induced a ground out, but Harvey scored on the play.
Up came Ebaugh, who already had a pair of hits, including a monster home run to left in her previous at bat. Coatesville opted to put her on intentionally. Hannah Slicer (2-4, 3B, RBI)made the decision a costly one, ripping a ball to straight away center for the RBI triple.
“I was really nervous coming up to bat,” said Sears. But I knew we really needed a hit there, so I just did what I had to do. We really played pretty well as team today. That last inning, it just seemed to be contagious. Once one of us got going we all got excited and the hits came.”
Coatesville got on the board first, and in a hurry. Senior catcher Emma Scott led off the home first, and connected for a line-shot to the fence in left, coming all the way around for a triple. She scored on a one-out sacrifice fly off the bat of Tori Clark ( 1-3, RBI) . Scott finished the day a perfect 4 for 4, with two runs scored and an RBI.
“Emma had a great day,” said Coatesville coach Bill Mendenhall. “She didn’t just get the hits, she had some really great at bats, working the count and getting two-strike hits.”
Kennett notched a pair of runs in the second, on singles from Harvey and Ebaugh, and a couple of walks, and another in the fifth on Ebaugh’s dinger, and led 3-2 going into the bottom half of the sixth.
Coatesville battled back to plate three in the sixth, working a double steal for the first run, then another with a bunt from Sherman, who moved up to second on an errant throw. Scott brought Sherman home with a two-out, RBI single.
Because of COVID issues, it was just the second game of the year for the Red Raiders, who opened with heartbreaking one-run loss Monday to West Chester East.
“We haven’t had any real time on the field, and then we opened against probably the two best pitchers in the league,” said Mendenhall. “It’s tough to lose the one-run games, because you’ll always have the ‘what ifs,’ but I am proud of the way the girls battled both days, especially today coming from behind to score late inning runs.”
Ebaugh picks up her third win of the season, going the distance for the victory. She allowed five runs on eight hits—half of those to Scott. Ebaugh struck out 10 and walked just one.
“It was stressful, but we never cracked under pressure,” said Ebaugh. “We stayed composed as a team. Even though we’re a young team, we handled the pressure well. Maddie Sears really came up clutch today. Coatesville is a good team, and I learned that if I don’t hit my spots, their lead-off hitter is going to take advantage. It was great for us to play a good team like this and battle back for the win.”
Though the win is great, and can only help as the season wears on, it isn’t something a coach wants to go through often.
“I hope there aren’t many of these kind of games—not good for the stress levels,” said Gottstein. “But it was definitely great to see them dig deep and didn’t take no for an answer. Did what we had to do with the bats. It was nice not to have to rely solely on Gen. We’re definitely coming along.”
