Vikings prevail in tight city fastpitch final

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This article was published 18/05/2016 (3606 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The ecstasy of winning was written on the faces of the Vincent Massey Vikings, while the agony of defeat was etched all over the Neelin Spartans.

With runners on first and second and two out in the bottom of the seventh inning, Massey first baseman Kaitlyn Slator hit a high infield pop fly that should have led to extra innings. It did not.

Neelin shortstop Darian Compton dropped the ball, allowing Carlie Johnston to cross home with the winning run, as the Vikings captured their 21st consecutive Brandon High School Fastpitch League final with a thrilling 3-2 win on their home field on Tuesday.

“You feel like you want to win a game by doing something wonderfully offensive, not on behalf of a mistake by the other team, but I guess that’s competition for you,” first-year Massey head coach Christine Curtis said.

“It can go both ways and I guess today it just fell in our favour.”

She added that it was “nerve-racking” with so much pressure on the team to extend its long-standing reign.

In a game highlighted by outstanding pitching from Massey’s Sydney Cobb, who tossed a complete game and allowed just one earned run on two hits and three walks, and Neelin’s Arjana Eilers, who tossed 6 2/3 innings and allowed three runs — none of which were earned — on five hits and three walks, it was a defensive blunder that produced the winning run.

Despite making five errors, Neelin head coach Lana Dubois, praised Eilers and the defence for limiting Massey to just two runs in six innings.

“The pitchers just battled back and forth and I think we have to give props to both pitchers on both sides because they both went their seven innings and normally we don’t do that,” Dubois said. “Our pitcher definitely held us in that game and our defence came up when we needed them to, and then just fell short in the end.”

Neelin lost 13-3 and 8-5 to Massey during the regular season and Dubois was also pleased by the all-around effort her team displayed in the final.

“Our first two games against them weren’t even that close and to even go seven innings and lose like that … we still feel like that was our best game that we’ve ever played and unfortunately we didn’t get the result that we wanted to,” Dubois said.

Neelin opened the scoring when Slator’s first-inning throw to third baseman Megan Earl sailed, allowing Eilers to score. But Slator made amends for her error with a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the inning to give the Vikings a

2-1 lead.

Allison Jones brought the Spartans even in the top of the fourth inning when she slapped an RBI single to right field that plated Ally Gorowski.

Both teams had bases-loaded opportunities, first Massey in the bottom of the fifth and then Neelin in the top of the sixth, but neither team could bring the go-ahead run across home plate until the bottom of the seventh inning.

“There were plenty of opportunities for both teams to cash in more runs than we did and the defence just took that away,” Dubois said. “Our pitching didn’t allow any runs to get in, the same with theirs.”

Massey catcher Brianne Dubois admitted she thought her team’s victory wouldn’t have been as difficult to come by.

“I definitely expected it to be easier than it was, but I’m glad it was a lot tougher — tougher D, tougher hitting, tougher pitches,” she said.

However, the Grade 12 student is thrilled to be getting another chance to reach provincials.

“It feels great. It’s the fourth year in a row and it feels awesome to know that you’ve come out with a win.”

Massey will visit either the Hamiota Huskies or Russell’s Major Pratt Trojans in their interzone game on May 25. The winner will advance to provincials in Morden from June 3 to 5.

The Huskies and Trojans will play on Thursday for the right to host Massey.

» nliewicki@brandonsun.com

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