Published Wednesday, April 30, 2008 3:12 PM
Updated Wednesday, April 30, 2008 3:14 PM
Stratford’s Casey Miller is embraced by her teammates after scoring the winning run against Summerville Tuesday.
Lady Knights stand strong against Wave
Monday’s rain did little to dampen the spirits of the Lady Knights as they claimed a 2-1 victory at home over Summerville in an extra innings Region 7-AAAA playoff quarterfinal Tuesday.
The battle between the Lady Knights and the Green Wave ended in the bottom of the eighth with a single to the leftfield gap by Stratford’s Katelyn Rush to drive in the winning run.
The first part of the game was a defensive battle.
Stratford pitcher Caroline Pastre struck out seven batters while surrendering only one walk and no hits on the mound. Summerville pitcher Malori Myers had only one strike out, but allowed one hit and one walk before the game was called due to rain in the bottom of the fourth Monday.
The defensive game continued the following day until the top of the seventh inning.
With two outs and no one on, Summerville’s Rochelle Lyda hit a homerun to take the lead before the side was retired.
“When we saw the hit we knew we had to stay focused and get back in the game,” Stratford shortstop Jordan Smith said. “We’ve come back from being down before and we knew we had to do it again.”
A single down the third base line by Stratford’s Marielena Santos combined with a Summerville error allowed Santos to get in scoring position. A sacrifice fly by Morgan Kilgallen advanced Santos to third before a wild pitch sent her running home for the tie to send the game into extra innings.
“The girls were playing great out there tonight,” Tolar said. “The whole season we’ve been working towards bonding as a team and getting behind one another.
“They did that for Caroline tonight and for whoever was at the plate.”
The Lady Knights defense refused to waver in the eighth. Summerville’s Ashley Muckelvany singled before two strikeouts by Pastre and a pop fly ended the top of the eighth.
“I was really proud of the way Caroline threw tonight,” Tolar said. “She was able to shake off the homerun in the seventh and pitch a very solid game. She really held her own out there.”
Myers also stayed strong in the eighth, allowing only one runner to get on base before the end of the inning.
With a runner in scoring position and one out, Summerville’s Brittany Koester knocked a single to right, allowing Emily Purcell to take third base. Another strikeout for Pastre and a pop fly by Summerville’s Myers ended the Green Wave’s chance at victory.
With Stratford’s Casey Miller on third and one out, Rush popped a hit into left field allowing Miller to score for the win.
“This was a really big win for us,” Smith said. “We have all worked really hard to get this far, and getting a win against such a great team like Summerville is a huge accomplishment.
“We have a lot of young talent out here and we have done a lot to bond together as a team. We played really good defense tonight and got the hits we needed.
“Caroline pitched a great game and the whole team was behind her.”
Pastre struck out 14 with only two walks.
“I felt strong out there tonight,” Pastre said. “It was different to have the game split in two like it was, but my arm felt good and I knew the team was behind me playing great defense.”