Gallery by Heather Belcher
Coal City – Last season ended with a mixture of history and heartache for the Bluefield softball team.
Tuesday night, it was another dose of history, but this time it was mixed with jubilation and tears of joy for the Beavers.
One night removed from a 9-2 win over Independence in Game 1 of the Class AA Region 3 tournament, Bluefield swept the best-of-3 series with a 7-0 win over the Patriots.
The win secures the first-ever regional softball title in school history for the Beavers.
Bluefield will make its initial state softball tournament appearance on Wednesday, May 22 when it battles the winner of Weir and Keyser out of Region 1 at 9:45 a.m. at Little Creek State Park in South Charleston.
“It hasn’t sunk in totally, but it is amazing,” senior hurler Izzy Smith said. “Last year, first-ever team to have a sectional title from our school and this year, the first team to have a regional title and going to states.”
The Beavers were agonizingly close last year to winning the regional title on the same field before Independence knocked them off with a furious five-run rally in the final inning.
With one win in hand this year, Bluefield went on the attack from the get-go Tuesday.
“A quick start was 100 percent important and something that we joked with them about,” Bluefield head coach Justin Hall said. “We told them they could start scoring earlier tonight. They did and that kind of takes us out of the nervous part of the situation. It just lets them play ball.”
Abby Richardson was hit by a pitch to lead off the game and Grace Richardson singled, putting runners at the corners. Maddie Lawson then ripped a laser down the left field line for a double, giving the Beavers a 2-0 lead.
“They were dialed in and they weren’t going to be denied this year. That was evident to me last week on our off-week,” Hall said. “They were relaxed. They were focused and they practiced hard. It was evident last night too. It just took us a minute to get going. Tonight we left no doubt.”
The ladies from Mercer County tacked on three more in the second inning.
After creating havoc at the bottom of the order last night, Audra Rockness and Abigail Matthews hit back-to-back singles to start frame two.
Three walks and a hit batsman followed and before Independence could hit for the second time, it found itself down 5-0.
“This year, we just had trouble putting together good solid games. When we did, we played with anybody,” Independence head coach Ken Adkins said. “We just seemed to have those innings. I am not making excuses and it was not anybody in particular’s fault. We just had a couple of those innings tonight where we gave up a few runs.”
Staked to a solid lead early, Smith spun a gem in the circle on the historic night.
Aided by 15 putouts from the defense behind her, Smith limited the Patriots to just three hits, while striking out six and walked just two batters.
“This is amazing. This is what we have looked forward to all season long,” Smith said. “We really put forth a really big effort and made sure we stayed in tune. We knew where we wanted to go. My defense was great. I have 100 percent trust in them at all times. I know I can put the ball in the zone and they will have my backs.”
In a year where defense has easily been the difference between most wins and losses. Bluefield was on point with zero miscues in the win.
“When the ball goes up or a ball gets put in play, we expect to make the play. Our defense was huge and a lot of that was the experience factor,” Hall said. “Abby (Richardson) making beautiful Derek Jeter type plays at short. We have a first baseman that catches the ball. We have outfielders that if the ball goes up in the air, it is locked down.”
An RBI-single from Smith in the fourth moved the advantage to 6-0. The final run for Bluefield came in the seventh as a result of two Indy errors.
“This group has played a lot of softball over the years. I have had the privilege of coaching these seniors for a long time,” Hall said. “We have been through a lot of battles and big moments. We have seen the good and we have seen the bad side. The leadership in those seniors is huge. When everyone looks around and they have their heads high and focused, it is really easy to get focused again.”
On the Independence side, naturally, the loss was a hard one to take.
“I told the kids that you hate to say a 20-win season is a failure,” Adkins said. “Here (at Independence) we judge everything by that plaque and making it to the state tournament. That is the goal when we start. It is a hard pill to swallow. My seniors deal with a lot from me and we ask a lot of them.”
“It was four innings before we got the first hit,” Adkins went on to say. “We were hitting the ball, but we were just hitting right at people. Give them credit. They are a good team and an experienced team. I had hoped their lack of a difficult schedule would benefit us a little bit, but it didn’t. Their coach did a good job of taking advantage of opportunities. When we gave them opportunities, they capitalized on them.”
