The Chesapeake High School softball team advanced to its fourth state tournament in five years with a 10-6 victory over visiting Broadneck in the Class 4A East Region finals Saturday.
Chesapeake High School junior Kelly Hickman jumps for joy after her team's 10-6 win over Broadneck. Hickman blasted a three-run home run to provide the go-ahead runs in the third inning.
Sweet redemption.
That's the only thing that could be said after the
Chesapeake High School softball team avenged two straight losses to
Broadneck with a 10-6 victory over the visiting Bruins in the Class 4A East Region championship Saturday.
The defending state champion Cougars (22-2) are now aiming for their fourth state title game appearance in five years. But North Region champion Linganore is Chesapeake's next opponent in Tuesday's state semifinals, which will be at 7 p.m. at Bachman Sports Complex in Glen Burnie.
"The kids came out for this game more pumped up than they've been all year," said Chesapeake coach Don Ellenberger, whose team scored a combined nine runs in the third and fourth innings.
"They know what this means. I'm very proud of them. How we ended up scoring 10 runs -- I don't have a clue."
Broadneck (19-3) topped the Cougars during the regular season,
2-0, and again in the Anne Arundel County championship,
4-2. But the 10 runs surrendered Saturday was twice as many runs as the Bruins have given up in a game all season.
In the third inning, junior second baseman Kelly Hickman (1-for-2, two walks) blasted a three-run home run over the fence in left field to give Chesapeake a 4-2 lead it would not surrender. Hickman had a similar two-run bomb in a region
semifinal win over
Arundel last Thursday.
"Kourtney (Salvarola) doesn't give me a lot of strikes," said Hickman, who jumped on the first pitch from the Broadneck starter. "I just took advantage of it."
Chesapeake wasn't done yet. After Salvarola walked senior shortstop Angela Yannone and junior Alexis Matula -- she walked four in the inning -- junior Amanda Montgomery (2-for-4, double, four RBIs) clubbed a shot down the third-base line to score two more runs.
The setbacks continued for Broadneck in the fourth. Senior outfielder Samantha Pettie led off the frame with a bunt single and would later score on a passed ball. Salvarola then walked the bases loaded and Matula was hit by a pitch to score Hickman from third. With bases still loaded, Montgomery would strike again, this time for a two-RBI shot to left. At the end of four, the Cougars opened a 10-2 lead.
Salvarola gave way to sophomore reliever Ashley Thomas after the surge. Salvarola gave up all 10 runs, eight of which were earned, on only four hits. She walked eigth batters and hit two.
"I thought we were in the game the entire way but the mental mistakes hurt us," said Bruins coach Jim Ware, whose team finished with more hits (seven) than Chesapeake (six) but also committed four errors.
All in all, it was a frustrating day for Salvarola. One of Broadneck's best hitters batted in the No. 2 spot and was intentionally walked all four times she stepped up to the plate.
"It's tough," Ware said. "It's something Kourtney is used and I know the parents don't like it, but hey, that's softball."
The strategy proved to work out for Chesapeake but Salvarola scored twice, including a run in the third off a Mergan Heins double that tied the game, 1-1, in the third. Trailing by eight runs in the seventh, senior outfield Lauren Battista (2-for-4) led off the inning with a double to right center and Salvarola, the next batter, was walked on five pitches (she swung at one stray pitch).
Thomas was also walked to load the bases, which set up a grand slam from senior right fielder Cori Seitler to produce the final outcome. Chesapeake starter Lauren Gibson forced the next three batters into groundouts.
Gibson finished with four strikeouts and gave up two runs in third on Heins' double and overthrown ball to first base. The three-year varsity starter will be making her third appearance in the state tournament.
Gibson and senior Erika Stasch each reached base three times and Yannone had an RBI single for the Cougars.
"Today is the best offensive output we've had in several weeks," Ellenberger said. "If we can come anywhere close to duplicating the effort that we had today, we'll be tough."
Broadneck (19-3) 002 000 4 - 6 7 4
Chesapeake (22-2) 105 400 x - 10 6 1
WP: CH - Gibson (14-2). LP: BN - Salvarola. 2B: BN - Battista, Heins; CH - Montgomery. HR: BN - Sietler; CH - Hickman. RBI: BN - Sietler 4, Heins; CH - Hickman 3, Montgomery 3, Matula.