VIENNA, W.Va. — Hurricane softball coach Meghan Stevens expected George Washington to get off to a strong start Thursday in the Class AAA championship against the Redskins.
Not only had the Patriots lost to Hurricane 9-0 one night earlier, but GW was fresh off a thrilling 2-1 walk-off win over Washington in an elimination game.
Stevens’ thoughts proved true when GW built a 3-0 lead in the first inning at Jackson Memorial Park.
But the Redskins showed why they entered as four-time defending state champions, scoring multiple runs in each of the last four innings to claim a fifth straight crown with an 11-5 win.
“It’s the expectation. We have our alumni here and they mean a lot to us and they’re always pumping us up,” Stevens said. “The girls don’t want to let past Redskins down and we take it very, very seriously.
“But we also have a lot of joy in it. We’re super close. We always say we’re going to win and we’re going to have fun doing it. And that’s what we do.”
GW (32-7) went on top early courtesy of Lauren Price’s RBI single and a two-run home run off the bat of Brianna McCown.
The Patriots’ lead stayed 3-0 until the bottom of the third. Although Hurricane (33-6) had a runner thrown out at the plate before scoring, the Redskins went on to tie the contest that inning.
Caiti Mathes got the Redskins on the board with a run-scoring single, before Zoey Dunlap produced a two-run double on an 0-2 pitch that knotted the game.
“Whenever we tied it up at 3, my mindset was it’s a totally different ball game and it’s like it’s 0-0 at the beginning,” Hurricane pitcher Harlie Vannatter said. “I was just trying to take advantage of us catching up, because I’m the one that let us fall behind.”
Hurricane went on top for good with a pair of runs in the fourth courtesy of sacrifice flies from Alivia Meeks and Lindsay Phares.
“We knew they were going to come out with some extra emotion and we said they’re probably going to score some runs, let’s just stay calm,” Stevens said. “We know what we can do when we get our chances.”
The Redskins added to their lead for a 7-3 advantage when they scored twice more in the fifth. Emily Bennett’s suicide squeeze bunt allowed the first run of the frame to score and Rachel Lyon followed with an RBI single.
“Again today, the bottom of the lineup having good at bats and getting on base was big,” Stevens said. “And then roll it over and everybody taking advantage. Whether it was an error, getting bunts down, singles, whatever it was — the execution throughout the lineup today I’m super proud of.”
GW, however, did not go down easily and Emma Sitler hit a two-run home run in the sixth to trim the Patriots’ deficit to two.
But Hurricane scored four more runs in the home half of the fifth to put the game out of reach.
Mathes’ RBI single made it 8-5, while the Patriots hurt their cause by committing a fourth error that enabled HHS to lead by four runs.
Vannatter’s groundout and another single from Lyon brought home the final two runs of the game.
Vannatter struck out five and allowed nine hits while picking up the win.
McCown scattered 13 hits in six innings in defeat.
Mathes and Lyon each connected for three hits in the victory.