Gallery by Karen Akers
The potential was there Tuesday for top-seeded Woodrow Wilson to look ahead.
Instead, the Flying Eagles chose to stay in the moment.
With an anticipated showdown lurking Wednesday with longtime nemesis Greenbrier East, Beckley first had to beat No. 4 seed Princeton in game one of the Class AAA Region 3, Section 2 tournament.
The Flying Eagles took down the Tigers in five innings.
Collecting 13 hits over four innings at the plate and aided by a couple of costly Princeton errors, Woodrow knocked off the Tigers 10-1.
“They are pretty confident bunch I think. It is a little scary the confidence they have,” Woodrow Wilson head coach Pam Davis said. “But, they didn’t get rattled and they seem to be having fun. The hitting was awesome tonight and our pitching was great.”
Princeton got itself in trouble early and Woodrow Wilson took advantage to build a 2-0 lead.
After a walk to Aubrey Smallwood, hot-hitting Ava Mullins hit a solid single to right field. When the ball got through the fielder and rolled to the fence, Smallwood came in to score and Mullins did not stop until she was standing on third base. A sharp ground ball from Kayla Bird scored Mullins for the early lead.
It was not the start that Princeton head coach Craig Johnson needed.
“Errors on defense early in the game just kills momentum. I thought we had some momentum early and playing good in the field will translate to the plate,” Johnson said. “We just never could get ahead of ourselves. I’m a little frustrated with the fielding because we have been fielding pretty good. You can’t give good teams extra chances.”
The Tigers dodged a bullet in the second inning when Jayden Shrewsbury hit a lead-off triple for the Flying Eagles, but was left stranded.
It was the only true missed opportunity for Woodrow Wilson all night.
Back-to-back infield singles from Smallwood and Mullins, along with a wild pitch, set the table for Bird in the third. Battling back from an 0-2 jam, Bird drove a two balls and two strikes pitch to right field, scoring both runners.
An RBI from Kendall Dooley and another Princeton error resulted in another run to give the home team a 6-0 lead after three innings.
“If you give them extra time at the plate and give them confidence, they’re hard to beat,” Johnson said. “They are probably the best team we have played this year.”
While the Woodrow bats were hot, Beckley hurler Taylor Scott was holding the Tigers hitless over the first four frames.
“I wasn’t really nervous outside of the normal pre-game jitters. I knew not to underestimate Princeton, but I also knew my defense had my back and we have been hitting well,” Scott said. “They always do well behind me.”
The Flying Eagles put up another four-spot in the bottom of the fourth inning, doing all the damage with two outs.
Dooley applied the first big lick when she doubled to the right-center gap scoring Mullins and Bird who had reached on singles.
Shrewsbury followed with a single to score Dooley and then raced home on a double from Taylor McDaniel.
“It was encouraging seeing us hit all down the lineup and I believe that is the difference for us. We have great pitching and I am not taking anything away from the pitchers. Aubrey (Smallwood) and Taylor have been great,” Davis said. “But, we have had good pitching in the past, but we did not have that total lineup of hitters. I feel good no matter who is up at the plate. They all can hit.”
Princeton came to life in the final inning of the game with three hits to score its lone run. Unfortunately for the Tigers, it just came a little late.
“We fought well there in the last inning and I was happy with that. I told the girls that the last inning tonight just needs to translate to the first inning tomorrow,” Johnson said.
Both teams are still alive in the double-elimination format.
Woodrow Wilson will host Greenbrier East in the winner’s bracket, while Princeton will travel to Oak Hill for an elimination game. Both games will be played at 6:30 p.m.
“They are not coming here to lose,” Davis said about Greenbrier East. “I have told the girls that we are going to have to work hard. It will be a tough game.”
P: 000 01 – 1 3 3
WW: 204 4x – 10 13 2
WP: Taylor Scott; LP: Emma Johnson
Hitting: P: Riley Riggs 1-3 (rbi), Payton Agnew 1-2, Zoey Agnew 1-2; WW: Aubrey Smallwood 1-2, Ava Mullins 3-3, Kayla Bird 2-3 (3 rbi), Brooklyn Bird 2-3, Kendall Dooley 1-3 (2b, 3 rbi), Jayden Shrewsbury 2-2 (3b, rbi), Taylor McDaniel 1-3 (2b, rbi), Abby Wooton 1-3.
