WAGENER-SALLEY 10, RIDGE SPRING-MONETTA 9 (10 innings)
WAGENER -- The playoffs came early Monday night in Wagener.
Sure, the postseason doesn't start until next week, but the Aiken County Class A rivalry softball clash between Wagener-Salley and Ridge Spring-Monetta had all the makings of a playoff thriller - with the atmosphere to match.
And with all of those playoff vibes came the ultimate lesson that applies once the postseason begins.
It doesn't matter what it looks like or how it happened, all that matters is picking up the win.
Neither side could be too thrilled about some unusual pitching performances, too many errors in the field and some unexpectedly cold bats, but each team fought and clawed back and forth for 10 innings and nearly four hours of softball. Wagener-Salley had squandered opportunities to end the game sooner, then overcame a three-run deficit in extra innings for a 10-9 win to lock up another Region 3-A title on Senior Night.
"The thing I'm most proud about with these girls is they never give up," said Wagener-Salley head coach Jennifer Starnes. "They never gave up, and when it was time to produce they did. They came in in the ninth inning with a three-run deficit, and they all had the most defeated look on their face. But I was like, 'You can do this. Put it in your head, and let's do it.' And they did. I'm just excited about that. Definitely not our best night, but I'm excited they kept fighting."
The War Eagles came to the plate in the bottom of the 10th with Samya Daniels starting the inning on second base due to the international tie breaker. She moved to third when Gracie Starnes led off the inning with a bunt single, then raced home for the winning run by Kylee Hooker did the same in the next at-bat.
That was the capper to a marathon game that looked like it was finally on the verge of ending when RS-M plated three runs in the top of the ninth for a 9-6 lead.
Madison Wootton led off the inning with a single, scoring Miley Coffey from second. Tiffany Cuttill singled and moved to third on an error as Wootton scored, and then Cuttill came in on a sacrifice fly by Avery Watson.
Wagener-Salley didn't wait long to respond. Allie Davis led off the bottom of the ninth with a single, her third hit of the game, to bring in LeAnn Rawls and cut the deficit to two runs. Charley Fields ripped a double to bring home Davis, and an RBI groundout by Maliah Harris leveled the score at 9 apiece.
Gracie Starnes returned to the circle for the top of the 10th and quickly worked through the inning, striking out two of three batters to give her team another chance at the win. She didn't play up to her lofty standards Monday, with just the bunt single at the plate and 10 hits allowed and seven walks - but she also struck out 22 batters, and her teammates picked her up at the plate.
In addition to Davis' three hits, Hooker and Rawls had two apiece. The War Eagles have shown time and time again that they can hurt opposing defenses from a variety of spots in the lineup, and once again they produced when they needed to the most.
"They step up. They do. And that's what I say about this team. ... They produce when they have to. That's just not something you see a whole lot," Jennifer Starnes said. "The variety of hits that we have going throughout the year has been great, because the top will hit and the bottom will hit. That's what we need, the whole lineup to hit. That's the good thing about these girls. They can step in and do what they need to do at the right time."
Jersey Howie struck out 10 batters in the circle for RS-M, but she also allowed 10 hits, walked five batters and hit two others. Yara McMillan had three hits at the plate to lead the offense, and Cuttill had two. Ruby Powell had two, including a two-run home run - the first career homer for the freshman - in the top of the fifth inning that gave the Trojans a 4-3 lead.
Wagener-Salley answered right back when Davis led off with a hard single, then made it all the way to third on an error in the outfield. She later scored on a Fields groundout.
RS-M gambled in the top of the sixth, but McMillan was thrown out trying to steal home to end the inning.
Wagener-Salley surged back ahead when Daniels scored from first when a Hooker line drive was dropped in the outfield, then Rawls added a run-scoring single for a 6-4 lead.
Again, though, RS-M wouldn't go away. Coffey reached on an error and Powell joined her with an infield single, then each scored on a throwing error to tie the game once again. Gracie Starnes kept the Trojans from taking the lead, though, by striking out the last two batters of the inning.
That's the same way she started the game. Howie led off the top of the first with a single, then stole second and third to put RS-M in position to take an early lead. Three strikeouts followed, though, and RS-M couldn't get on the scoreboard until the top of the fourth inning.
Missed opportunities plagued both teams Monday, but they'll each have another opportunity to right those wrongs Wednesday. The rematch is at RS-M in what should be another playoff-type environment to get both teams ready to make a postseason run.
