6:00: Morning News

Herbert Hoover rallies to beat Oak Glen 6-5, capping off Huskies’ improbable 4-peat in Class AA

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Never underestimate the heart of a champion.

Never was that more evident than Wednesday at Little Creek Park, when Herbert Hoover defeated Oak Glen twice, including a 6-5 win in eight innings to cap the high school softball season and give the Huskies a fourth straight Class AA championship.

“We want the people to feel like they got their money’s worth when they paid their admission for tickets,” Hoover coach Missy Smith said. “Back when we were in the region down 9-7 (against Lincoln) and down to our last three outs, we came back and won and my assistant coach Jamanda Rollyson said, ‘That may have just won us the state championship.’ It absolutely laid the foundation, because there’s no quit in this group.

“It doesn’t matter who’s at the plate or on the mound, they believe in each other and believe in themselves. That’s hard to stop.”

After falling Tuesday to Sissonville in its state tournament opener, the Huskies rattled off four straight victories to claim the four-peat. They made it to see Wednesday by beating Independence, then knocked out Sissonville for the right to play in the final.

Needing to beat the Golden Bears twice, Herbert Hoover (27-4) first claimed a 10-0 win in five innings. The winner-take-all matchup didn’t come near as easy, with the Huskies battling back from a 5-0 deficit in the fifth and a three-run deficit in the seventh to earn another title.

“I knew we could do it from the start and if there were any obstacles, we could go through it,” Huskies’ senior Cortney Fizer said. “When we lost that first game, I had no doubt that we could come out of it and win it.”

With Oak Glen (29-3) leading 5-2, the Huskies showed they wouldn’t go down quietly in the top of the seventh and got back-to-back doubles from Caroline Woody and Sydney Bright to close their deficit to a pair.

Following the first out, a Golden Bears’ error put the tying run on base. Abby Hanson then belted a ground rule double to make it a one-run game, and had the ball stayed in play, it almost certainly would have allowed Grayson Buckner to score the tying run.

Instead, that came on a sacrifice fly from Sydney Shamblin in the next at bat to tie the game at 5, though Emma Veltri grounded out with the go-ahead run on third to end the inning.

“They came together and they’re a fantastic hitting team,” Golden Bears’ coach Sherrie Garner said. “We weren’t able to get the outs we needed to stop the bleeding. That was unfortunate, because these girls have done a great job.”

Buckner worked a scoreless seventh that saw Oak Glen strand a pair, though it marked her 14th inning pitched of the day after the junior went six innings in the 10-0 win over Sissonville and five in the first victory over the Golden Bears by the same score.

Knowing Buckner was unavailable to pitch any longer, the Huskies wasted no time taking their first and only lead of the game. Brooklyn Huffman led off the eighth with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored with two outs on Fizer’s single to center.

“I was nervous, because I hadn’t been too hot throughout the whole tournament,” Fizer said. “I knew I was due. I knew I was going to watch the ball and hit it and since I’m a senior, I had to do my job.”

Josi Fix, who started at pitcher for Hoover and allowed five runs over her first four innings, took over for Buckner in the circle in the eighth. Fix struck out the leadoff batter, before recording consecutive outs with a runner at second base to seal the verdict.

“Buckner is fantastic,” Garner said. “She did everything she needed to do and they played it well to save her until the end. They put those pieces together and it worked well for them. We were able to be more successful against their other pitcher and that was efficient for us, but we weren’t able to seal the deal.”

The Huskies began to battle back from a 5-0 deficit in the fifth when Woody’s triple scored Veltri. Veltri’s infield single in the sixth enabled Fizer to score the Huskies’ second run.

Things looked bleak for Hoover when the Golden Bears broke a scoreless tie with five runs in the fourth inning.

Oak Glen recorded five of its eight hits in the frame, scoring its first two runs on bunts that resulted in a fielder’s choice and adding three more on Grace Smith’s RBI single and Sydney Brown’s two-run single.

“We were efficient that inning,” Garner said. “That was our inning and we just needed one more.”

Maddie McKay, who had a triple among her two hits, was charged with the loss. She allowed six runs on 10 hits, while walking six and striking out four in eight innings.

Fix struck out four in five innings, while Buckner worked three scoreless frames without surrendering a hit.

“She was exactly what we needed her to be,” Smith said of Buckner. “Our defense played behind her and Josi.”

Woody led all players with three hits, including a double and triple.

In the 10-0 victory that forced a final game, the Huskies produced all of their offense in the fifth inning. Bright drove in the game’s first run with a single, before Buckner drew a base-on-balls and Hanson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Shamblin added a run-scoring single moments later, before Fix made it 6-0 with a two-run single. Huffman added a two-run double, Woody had an RBI groundout and Bright connected for a second run-scoring single in the inning.

“We never panicked and when we have the ball, we’re in control,” Smith said. “Mental toughness is always at the top of our list.”

Less than three hours later, the Golden Bears had suffered more losses Wednesday than the rest of the season combined.

The win was especially sweet for Hoover, which claimed its fourth straight title five years after flooding destroyed the school.

“They say it takes a village and we have a river and that’s exactly where we want to be,” Smith said. “It’s a special community to be a part of and we’re lucky.”

Class AA All-Tournament Team

Lizzie Kell, Oak Glen

Maddie McKay, Oak Glen

Sarah Brown, Oak Glen

Madison Legg, Sissonville

Chloe Hart, Independence

Sydney Bright, Herbert Hoover

Cortney Fizer, Herbert Hoover

Brooklyn Huffman, Herbert Hoover

Grayson Buckner, Herbert Hoover

Sydney Shamblin, Herbert Hoover





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