CLENDENIN, W.Va. – Delani Buckner tossed a two-hit shutout as Herbert Hoover bounced back from a rare loss, defeating Winfield 7-0 at Michael Chandler Field.
The Huskies previously had their 45-game win streak snapped on Friday at Sissonville, their first loss since 2017. “Coming off back-to-back state championships, the winning streak just kept growing and growing,” said Herbert Hoover head coach Missy Smith.
“They were a little bit relieved. And now we started a new one. They understand the mistakes we made. Credit to Sissonville because they are a good team. We moved on to today pretty quickly.”
Buckner struck out 15 batters to pick up the victory. The Generals were only able to put multiple runners on base in one inning. “She struggled a little bit and missed some spots,” Smith said. “When she got behind a batter or they got a runner on base, she came back. She threw better when she had to concentrate.”
The Huskies received all the offense they needed when Megan Seafler doubled in a pair of runs in the second inning. Seafler had three hits in the contest. A Jessica Canterbury RBI single extended Herbert Hoover’s lead to 3-0 in the fourth inning. The Huskies broke the game open with a four-run sixth inning.
The two-time defending Class AA state champions improved to 12-1 with the win. Winfield fell to 11-7. The Huskies are a younger and less experienced squad compared to what Smith has coached in the last two years. “We’re still tweaking,” Smith said. “We’re hoping that if somebody is not hot, then we have somebody on the bench that will be.”