The two regular season meetings this year for Liberty against Independence ace Delaney Buckland did not go well.
Spanning 12 innings, the Raiders had only four hits and struckout 24 times against the Indy senior.
Thursday night at Larry “Tom” Poe Field, Buckland continued to baffle the ladies from Glen Daniel.
Going five innings, the senior all-stater shutout the visitors allowing just one hit and fanning 13 batters, leading the Patriots to a 10-0 win in game one of the Class AA Region 3 Section 2 Tournament.
“Thirteen strikeouts in five innings, that is a pretty good day,” Independence head coach Ken Adkins said. “This is kind of what we hoped for, getting her some rest and then her come out strong.”
Buckland has been the workhorse for the Patriots who played an incredible amount of games over the final three weeks of the season.
However, thanks to some intervention from Mother Nature, a three-day break between the end of the season and sectional play, turned into a much needed seven-day rest period.
“If you think about it, we did that beach (trip) and we played seven games in four days. Then we came home and played eight games in six days. Then we finish of the (regular season) with three more games (last week),” Adkins said. “That is a bunch of games right there at the end. We thought that would prepare us, but there were times against those teams where we (played) a little bit tired.”
With the normal zip back on her fastball, Buckland admitted the extra time off clearly made a difference.
“I had a few days rest and that was useful. That helped me out a little bit,” Buckland said. “I threw pretty good today and I definitely threw a lot of strikes. I feel like I have had a pretty good season. Coming in today, I am the leader here, so I felt like I needed to be confident for everybody else to be confident.”
Not only did the break help their ace pitcher, all of the Patriots looked rested and it showed at the plate.
“We hit five or six balls off the fence today. We were knocking signs off the fence we were hitting it so hard,” Adkins said. “We looked good the last couple of times that we were in the gym. Sometimes that is good because you can get back to some fundamental stuff off the tees.”
After striking out two of the three batters she faced in the first inning, Buckland ignited the Indy offense by smacking a double off the fence in center.
Primarily a slapper the last two years, Buckland has been a solid lead-off batter using a more conventional style at the plate.
“This year I have kind of been standing there hitting and it’s been doing me good so far,” Buckland said.
Following a single from Alli Hypes, Emma Lilly doubled to the fence scoring both runners for all the runs Buckland needed on the night.
“Ken always jokes that five runs will win the game. Four runs, five runs it gives me more confidence in the circle,” Buckland said.
Singles from Kassidy Bradbury and Harmony Mills each drove in a run for a 4-0 lead after the first inning.
Five more strikeouts and a pop fly kept Buckland perfect through three innings before the Patriots added to lead.
Lilly opened the third frame with a single and scored on a ringing double from Kendall Martin that dislodged the sign in left-center.
“Kendall has been very unselfish. She has been a little more aggressive lately, but she is still the ultimate team player and not worried about stats,” Adkins said.
A single from Bradbury and a sacrifice fly from Savannah Stanley gave Indy a 7-0 lead.
Buckland’s run at a perfect game ended in the fourth inning when Keandra Spurlock drilled a one-out single. However, that was the last base runner for the Raiders the rest of the night.
“Every school we play, our kids can hit. Mention Delaney’s name and they cannot hit that kid. She is solid,” Liberty head coach Mary Green said. “Everything she threw was in the zone. She can place (the ball) wherever she wants to put it and our girls just couldn’t find it today.”
In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Patriots brought the 10-run rule in to play. Mills smacked another double off the fence to score two runs before the basketball standout later scored on a sacrifice fly from Savannah Stanley for a 10-0 lead.
“Harmony is a good kid. She is the preeminent athlete playing softball. She is not necessarily a softball player yet, but she is just a really good athletic kid,” Adkins said. “She is focused and learning the game. She comes from a family of athletes and may be the best athlete in her family.”
Buckland closed out the win in style with three strikeouts.
“They were crushing the ball tonight. I told them before the game that they knew they could play with them, but now we have to hit with them. It just wasn’t our day,” Green said.
Independence will now host Shady Spring Friday night, while Liberty will travel to Nicholas County for an elimination game.
The winner between the Patriots and the Tigers will advance to the sectional championship game Monday.
