VIENNA, W.Va. — On the brink of blowing a three-run lead in the final inning, Marissa Garlitz lost control of her pitches and her emotions.
Then the Wheeling Central junior righted herself just in time.
With the tying run at third base and the potential winner on second, Garlitz got the game-ending strikeout to preserve a 5-4 win over Sherman in the Class A state softball tournament Wednesday.
“It’s the most stressed out I’ve ever been,” she said, tears of relief still welling up as she hugged teammates and parents outside the dugout.
“In that last inning, things went really south really quick. I was scared, I was nervous, and everyone was kind of jumping out of their shoes.”
Though Wheeling Central (25-6) earned a berth in the championship round, Garlitz was proof that even defending champs get rattled. After taking a 5-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh, she issued two walks, hit a batter, threw a wild pitch and allowed Haylee Clendenin’s single.
“I couldn’t throw a strike and it started to mess with my head,” Garlitz said. “You can’t let that happen.”
Ultimately she zipped a full-count fastball past Jocelyn Cooper, one of Sherman’s toughest hitters, to preserve the win — and appeared to wilt as teammates mobbed her in the circle
“I thought I was going to fall over,” said Garlitz.
Wheeling Central coach Rick Macgruder — unable to pitch Riley Bennington since the ace suffered a torn muscle in early April — saw Garlitz one-hit Fayetteville during a 10-2 win earlier Wednesday.
“We’ll stick with Marissa — she’s been rock for us,” he said. “Once in a while she’ll struggle but then she digs a little deeper and comes up with the pitch when she needs it.”
Olivia Carpenter’s two-run single helped the Knights lead 4-2 in the sixth before Kaitlyn Ferns RBI single in the seventh provided just enough insurance.
Ferns launched a three-run homer in the victory over Fayetteville (17-18).
Behind freshman pitcher Autumn Thompson, Sherman (16-11) was a 2-1 upset winner over Moorefield (27-8) in Wednesday’s opener. Now they’ll rematch Thursday in an elimination game to determine who meets Wheeling Central for the crown.
Class A state softball
Wednesday results
Wheeling Central def. Fayetteville 10-2
Sherman def. Moorefield 2-1
Moorefield def. Fayetteville 8-2 (Fayetteville eliminated)
Wheeling Central def. Sherman 5-4
Thursday schedule
Moorefield (27-8) vs. Sherman (16-11), 9:30 a.m.
Wheeling Central vs. TBD, 2 p.m.