Paint Branch defeats Blake 14-11 in extra innings

By Kyle Wannen
For DigitalSports.com

For almost six full innings, Blake and Paint Branch battled each other in a close game without much scoring.

But in the final 12 outs of a game that went to extra innings, the two teams found their bats and combined to score 22 combined runs.

The Panthers scored six runs apiece in the seventh and eighth innings to retake the lead for good as they defeated Blake 14-11 after eight innings.

"We've been waiting all year for a breakout like this and they hit it when it mattered most," Panthers coach Nate Wiles said. "All year we've been looking for an identity for ourselves and they just came out, played hard and put the basics together."

Paint Branch (6-2) led 2-1 for most of the game but Blake scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a four-run lead. The Panthers bounced right back and scored six runs in the top of the seventh to retake the lead as they batted through the order. With the bases loaded, shortstop Emma Schultz hit a sharp line drive back up the middle which drove in two runs and tied the game at six. Pitcher Alyssa Parkhurst scored on a error in the next at-bat and Schultz scored later as Paint Branch retook the lead.

"Blake is our biggest rival and I just wanted to really win and I'm just glad the team came together in the end and we were able to pull it off," Schultz said.

"Emma is an amazing player," Wiles said. "She bats in the fourth spot for a reason and I know every time she comes up in the clutch that she'll come through and she did that tonight in a big way."

After Blake tied the game in the bottom of the seventh, the Panthers bounced back to bat through the order and score six runs in the eighth inning. Center fielder Cathleen Carey started the scoring with a RBI single and then Schultz drove in another run with a single to take a two-run lead. Third baseman Elizabeth Dzierzanowski then crushed a deep ball in the left-center field gap to drive in two runs. Two batters later, first baseman Rachel Hollis drove in Schultz and Dzierzanowski with a two-RBI single to cap off the six-run inning.

"We definitely played our hearts out," Dzierzanowski said. "I'm just so proud of our team and our teamwork; how we pulled together. It's just a great win."

"This is her first year on varsity," Wiles said. "Another girl with amazing power and again she'll come through when I know she needs to."

Dzierzanowski also drove in two runs in the first inning with a double to give Paint Branch an early lead. Parkhurst pitched eigth innings and gave up 11 runs while striking out six.

Blake (8-2) got an amazing performance out of pitcher Meredith Mathis who struck out 15 batters through eight innings. In the sixth inning third baseman Bridget Hawvermale hit a RBI-triple to drive in shortstop Justine Smith who tied the game and then scored on a throwing error to give her team the lead. Then in the seventh, Smith and Hawvermale each scored again to tie the game again. The Bengals scored three runs in the eighth inning but could not catch the Panthers.

"I told them at the end of the game that I've been here three years and this team has never quit," Blake coach Dave Schipani said. "After a game like this we can't talk about the things that didn't go well."