Coal City – It was expected Wednesday’s matchup between Independence and Shady Spring would be a low-scoring affair.
It didn’t disappoint.
In a duel between two of the best pitchers in southern West Virginia, Indy came out on top, beating the Tigers 1-0 in Coal City, advancing to the Class AA Region 3, Section 2 championship game.
Delaney Buckland was stellar in the circle for the Lady Patriots, allowing just one hit and striking out 14 batters.
“I’m hitting the corners,” Buckland said. “I’m not throwing it down the middle and I’m making them chase. Throwing it high – they seem to really like the high ball sometimes so I just make them reach for it”
Buckland shined from the start, striking out the five of the first six batters she faced. On the opposite side, Shady pitcher Paige Maynard was effective in her own right.
She walked three batters in the first two innings, but stranded runners in scoring position to close both frames.
The third inning was when things got dicey.
After retiring the first two batters, Buckland allowed a line-drive single over the head of second baseman Jana Davis. A bobble at second on a ground ball allowed Brooke Presley to reach and Buckland walked Alyssa Lilly. That loaded the bases for No. 3 hitter Olivia Barnett, who entered the game with nine home runs and 53 RBIs on the season.
In the moment of truth Buckland came through again as she froze Barnett for a called third strike.
“I knew she was probably their best hitter,” Buckland said. “I knew I just needed to focus on her and throw it inside to her. I needed to get it up on the knuckles and that’s what I was doing the whole time.”
Buckland wasn’t the only Lady Patriot to answer the call in a big spot.
With two on and one out in the bottom of the third, all-stater Kaylen Parks stepped to the plate and notched an RBI single that scored Alyssa Daniels’ courtesy runner.
“We hit the ball today,” Indy head coach Ken Adkins said. “We weren’t able to get many balls to fall, but we were able to take advantage. I’ve said this before, I said it to Coach Steve Warner today – he called and wished me luck from West Virginia Wesleyan. But I said you have to be able to get a few hits and take advantage of the opportunities they give you and that’s what we did today.”
Indy was able to advance Parks and Sarah Bragg, who reached on a fielder’s choice behind Parks, into scoring position but Maynard limited the damage there.
Unfortunately for the visitors, that one run made the difference as only one Tiger reached base the rest of the way.
“They’re a good team and she’s a good pitcher,” Shady head coach Donald Barnett said. “We struck out 14 times tonight, six times looking, and there’s absolutely no room for that especially in the playoffs.”
Buckland ended the game the way she started – striking out the side in order to send her team to the championship game.
“Delaney took that as a personal challenge today,” Indy head coach Ken Adkins said. “It’s a secondary thing to the win, but man you sure do get tired of hearing that same stuff about 22-2 (Shady’s record). And these kids know what they’ve been through. They know the schedule we’ve played. And I don’t use that schedule as an excuse. It doesn’t make you intimidated and the difference in this game was not one kid walked in that box and I felt like they were intimidated.
“We’ve seen (St. Albans pitcher Tayven) Stephenson, (St. Albans pitcher Kendall Stoffel) and some other really good pitching. The first time we saw Stephenson at St. Albans it was like holy cow, we hadn’t seen anything like that. These kids have now played 31 games and we’re as ready as we’re going to be.
Shady drops into the loser’s bracket and will play the winner of Wednesday’s game between Nicholas County and Liberty on Thursday. Independence will host the winner of Thursday game on Friday, weather permitting.
SS: 000 000 0 – 0 1 0
I: 001 000 0 – 1 3 1
Pitching – SS: Paige Maynard and Kaylee Waddell; I: Delaney Buckland and Kaylen Parks. WP: Buckland, LP: Maynard. Hitting – SS: Kaylee Waddell 1-2; I: Delaney Buckland 1-2, Kaylen Parks 1-2 (RBI), Destiny Blankenship 1-3.