There would be no comeback this time for Herbert Hoover.
There would be no comeback this time for Herbert Hoover.
Kasey Endicott scored on an error in the bottom of the fifth inning to give Wayne the lead for good and pitcher Jessie Rowe kept it that way, setting down the Huskies in order the final two innings to secure a 4-3 victory Thursday evening in the Class AA Region 4 final. A crowd of about 400 ringed Michael D. Chandler Field at Herbert Hoover High School in Falling Rock.
The Pioneers (26-5), who finished fourth in the final state coaches association poll, advance to the double-elimination state tournament for the first time since 1994, taking on LibShady Spring (14-12) at approximately 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at Jackson Park in Vienna. The No. 3 Huskies (22-5), who made four errors Thursday, saw their 14-game winning streak come to an end.
"It devastated us,'' said Hoover coach Missy Smith of the miscues.
Hoover defeated Wayne 3-1 and 4-2 in 10 innings during the regular season, each time powered by home runs off Rowe that decided the outcome.
"We just kept battling and we didn't give up,'' said Rowe, a sophomore who allowed three earned runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and two walks on 106 pitches but retired Hoover's final six batters. "We fought as a team and came through.''
Hoover knotted the game at 3-all in the top of the fifth on freshman pitcher Allison Rager's sacrifice fly to right field. The Huskies still had a runner on second base with two outs, but Rowe struck out Hoover's Damia Mogielski on three pitches to end the threat.
Endicott led off the bottom of the fifth for Wayne with a double, took third base on Payton Fetty's groundout then scored on a throwing error to give the Pioneers the lead for good at 4-3. Hoover first baseman Amber Oaks tried to get Endicott at third, but Oaks' throw was over the head of Huskies third baseman Hayle Anderson.
"We had a lot of momentum going into that and [Wayne was] barely holding and we gave them the spark they needed,'' Smith said.
There would be no comeback this time for Herbert Hoover.
Kasey Endicott scored on an error in the bottom of the fifth inning to give Wayne the lead for good and pitcher Jessie Rowe kept it that way, setting down the Huskies in order the final two innings to secure a 4-3 victory Thursday evening in the Class AA Region 4 final. A crowd of about 400 ringed Michael D. Chandler Field at Herbert Hoover High School in Falling Rock.
The Pioneers (26-5), who finished fourth in the final state coaches association poll, advance to the double-elimination state tournament for the first time since 1994, taking on LibShady Spring (14-12) at approximately 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at Jackson Park in Vienna. The No. 3 Huskies (22-5), who made four errors Thursday, saw their 14-game winning streak come to an end.
"It devastated us,'' said Hoover coach Missy Smith of the miscues.
Hoover defeated Wayne 3-1 and 4-2 in 10 innings during the regular season, each time powered by home runs off Rowe that decided the outcome.
"We just kept battling and we didn't give up,'' said Rowe, a sophomore who allowed three earned runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and two walks on 106 pitches but retired Hoover's final six batters. "We fought as a team and came through.''
Hoover knotted the game at 3-all in the top of the fifth on freshman pitcher Allison Rager's sacrifice fly to right field. The Huskies still had a runner on second base with two outs, but Rowe struck out Hoover's Damia Mogielski on three pitches to end the threat.
Endicott led off the bottom of the fifth for Wayne with a double, took third base on Payton Fetty's groundout then scored on a throwing error to give the Pioneers the lead for good at 4-3. Hoover first baseman Amber Oaks tried to get Endicott at third, but Oaks' throw was over the head of Huskies third baseman Hayle Anderson.
"We had a lot of momentum going into that and [Wayne was] barely holding and we gave them the spark they needed,'' Smith said.
Rowe only needed 22 pitches to retire Hoover in the sixth and seventh with 1-2-3 innings. Hoover's top hitter Lexi Lawrence, who went 2-for-3, was left standing in the on-deck circle. After the Huskies' Kati Angle popped out to Wayne shortstop Jessica Watts, the Pioneers came together between the circle and second base, jumping up and down in celebration.
Wayne didn't commit an error.
"She's on all the time,'' said Wayne coach Tish Smith of Rowe. "It was a little tight, but she just had to battle on through. She trusted her defense and they performed for her. These girls came up with the run when they needed to and came up with an out when they needed to. I was really proud of them.''
Wayne jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first, sending eight batters to the plate. Jacey Parsons doubled in a run on the eighth pitch of her at-bat, Endicott added a fielder's choice RBI and Fetty added a run-scoring single. Fetty went 2-for-3 and was the only Pioneers' player with multiple hits. Hoover pulled within 3-2 in the fourth on No. 8 hitter Mikayla Craze's two-out, two-run single.
Rager, a freshman who finished with a 20-4 record and turned in a no-hitter during the regular season, surrendered three earned runs on six hits with three punchouts and one walk. Rager also finished with two hits.
The Huskies lose three starters to graduation in Lawrence, Anderson and leadoff hitter Chelsie Stover. Lawrence and Anderson are the team's top two hitters.
"The seniors graduate, but there's always somebody ready to step up,'' said Hoover's Smith, whose team hasn't been to states since 2005. "Hopefully we'll be right back here.''
Reach Tommy R. Atkinson at tatkin...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-4811.
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