Sean C. Morgan
Sweet Home’s bats went cold against Stayton in the first round of the state softball tournament Wednesday, May 28, and the Huskies’ hopes of a deep run into the playoffs ended in a heartbreaking 1-0 loss at home.
Both teams went scoreless for six innings.
The Huskies loaded bases with two outs during the fifth following the Huskies’ two hits, singles by Natalie Thorpe and Katie Virtue. Caytlin Gillespie walked to load the bases, but Sierra Thayer struck out to end the inning.
Then, in the top of the seventh, Stayton’s Jenna Leimbach led off the and drew their only walk of the game off Sweet Home pitcher Emily Marchbanks. After Husky first baseman Madisen Barringer pulled down a foul fly ball by Kylee Stutzman, Makayla Lindemann knocked the ball out to left field, where the Huskies committed their only error of the game, to score Leimbach.
Sweet Home put a runner on in the bottom of the seventh when Maddee Hawken went to first after being hit by Stayton pitcher Lindsey Hill, and Cochran sent McKenzie Virtue in to run for Hawken.
The Huskies reached base several times during the game when the pitcher hit a batter, walks and fielder’s choices, said Huskies Coach Shane Cochran.
Throughout most of the game, each team sent three batters up and three batters down, culminating in a long battle at bat by Katie Virtue, who struck out, at the end of the seventh, to end the game with Mackenzie Virtue on second.
“We just didn’t hit the ball,” Cochran said. “Their pitcher (Lindsay Hill) did their job. We just didn’t hit the ball like we normally do.”
The Huskies defeated Stayton 9-2 earlier in the season facing the same pitcher.
“Our hitting was way off of balance,” Cochran said. “It wasn’t our day.
The girls were off at the plate, said Katie Virtue. “I do think everybody did their best.”
It was a good effort on an off day, she said. Both pitchers threw two-hitters, and the Huskies defense was good.
“We had a very good season. No complaints at all. We just had one bad game at the wrong time. Looking at our season, we played very well.
“It was a fun team to coach. No personal issues at all. Team dynamics were great. Hard-working girls.”
“It was a fun season,” Virtue said. “It was good to beat up on our league.”
The senior leadership was fantastic, Cochran said. The team will say goodbye to three seniors, including outfielder Katie Virtue, pitcher Emily Marchbanks and outfielder Molly Dadey.
“Molly started off the season very well,” Cochran said. “She was starting left fielder, and then she got hurt.”
She took a ball to her mouth, sidelining her for at least a week, he said. “She kept a good attitude. That’s tough to bounce back from. She didn’t quit. She kept going and kept playing and getting in the rhythm.”
Virtue and Marchbanks are both signed to play ball in college, Virtue at Oregon Institute of Technology and Marchbanks at Clackamas Community College.
Virtue finishes the season with a whopping .774 batting average and a .800 on-base percentage, Cochran said.
“I don’t know how she did that,” Cochran said. “I can’t explain how she does it. She just does.”
She works hard hitting after practice, he said. That’s why she is so good at softball, and she does it because “she just wants to play, because she loves the game.”
Marchbanks finished with an unheard of .456 earned run average, Cochran said, striking out 138 batters on the season.
“That’s phenomenal numbers for a pitcher,” he said. “She is a very, very hard worker, and she’s put in years of time in the off season. She just works hard at it, and it’s paid off for her.”
Both say that constant practice is the key to their numbers.
“I go home, and I hit pretty much every day,” Virtue said.
“A lot of practice,” Marchbanks said. “When I know that I have a good team behind us and a team that’s going to score runs, it helps.”
Cochran is already looking at next season when he will have four starting seniors.
“We’re going to go into next year with a lot of planning,” Cochran said. “Defense is going to be really strong. Offense is going to be really strong. I think we’re going to be in contention for first or second place next year.”
The Huskies will have a freshman pitcher, who will have to take her “lumps and bruises” the first season, he said, but she’ll have a powerful defense behind her.
Stayton went on to Henley and lost 2-0 in the next round. Henley was schedule to host Banks.
Stayton 000 000 1 – 1 2 0
Sweet Home 000 000 0 – 0 2 1