Thursday,
April 16, 2015
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Zoe Rose cut down the tying run at the plate for the final out of the game to preserve Becton's wild 9-8 win at Wood-Ridge on Wednesday. |
WOOD-RIDGE – It is not easy for a team to stay poised and remain calm when everything feels like it is falling apart. As Becton third baseman Zoe Rose watched a line-drive whistle into the outfield with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, the only thing she should have heard is the opposing Wood-Ridge bench loudly cheering behind her. Clinging to a three-run lead with the bases loaded and Wood-Ridge down to its last strike, Becton needed to make one more play.
Despite being just a sophomore with only a couple of weeks worth of varsity experience, Rose remained focused on her job, which was to make sure the runner who started on first base did not come around to score the tying run. In a crazy set of circumstances, Wood-Ridge’s Bailey Wyrostek broke for the plate with the throw coming in from right-center. Rose alertly cut the throw off and fired to the plate with Kayla Clarke slapping on the tag for the final out as Becton held on for a wild 9-8 victory on Wednesday at Wood-Ridge High School.
“I called timeout before that last at-bat and made it clear that we have to keep the runner on first from scoring,” said Becton head coach Dwight Hall. “We knew they had a good hitter at the plate and we also knew what we had in that situation.”
Becton did not waste any time in setting the tone as the first four batters that came to the plate scored. The last three of those runs came on a homer to deep left by designated player Adriana LaVarco, who put the Wildcats ahead 4-0.
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Wood-Ridge's Claudia Hansen put the ball in play to start the wild game-ending play in the home 7th inning. |
“I looked for something that I could hit and I got the perfect pitch in the perfect spot,” said LaVarco. “I just let my swing go, it hit the sweet part of the bat and it just took off.”
Becton upped its lead to 6-0 in the second inning on RBI singles from LaVarco and senior shortstop Tanya Sanchez. The Blue Devils got those runs back in the bottom half of the frame on a bizarre play that started as a sacrifice bunt attempt that traveled all of 20 feet to the bunter coming all the way around to score. Aly Rodriguez laid down a bunt that was thrown away at first base and going all the way down the right-field line. Another error on the play allowed Rodriguez to circle the bases and cut the lead to 6-2.
Wood-Ridge got another run back in the third inning but could have scored a few more if not for several bad breaks. With two on and no outs, a well-placed bunt was dropped along the first-base line but it hit the batter’s leg as she came out of the box for the first out of the inning. With a run already across and runners on the corners, Lindsey Hargrave hit a line-drive that was headed for right field and would have surely plated another run. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, it hit the runner going from first to second and ended the inning with Becton still leading 6-3.
Then, in the fourth inning, the Blue Devils cut the lead to 7-5 and had a chance to bring another run across with the bases loaded and two outs, but ended up on the wrong end of a bad call at first base that ended the inning abruptly.
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Adriana LaVarco (3-4, 4 RBI) led the way offensively for Becton. finishing a double shy of the cycle. |
“We left a lot of runners on and we caught a couple of tough breaks in those two innings,” said Wood-Ridge head coach Raquel Roder. “I love that we stayed positive and we never quit. I think our girls are getting a taste of how good we can be, we’re just trying to learn how to win those close games to give us more confidence.”
The score was 9-6 heading into the Blue Devils’ last at-bat. It appeared Becton’s sophomore right-hander Kaitlyn O’Shea would get through unscathed by getting the first two batters on just five pitches and working an 0-2 count on Julia Connelly. The senior centerfielder stayed alive long enough to deliver a single to start the rally. A walk to Brianna McKhann and Wyrostek getting hit by a pitch loaded the bases for Claudia Hansen, the cleanup batter. She did her part by lacing a ball into right-center.
That is where things got crazy and confusing in one fell swoop.
Connelly and McKhann came around to score. Meanwhile, Wyrostek was headed for third and ran into Sanchez just as she rounded second with Sanchez suffering what appeared to be a serious injury on the play. The call was that Wyrostek was interfered with and would have been awarded third base. But with the ball still coming in from the outfield, the play was still live and Wyrostek decided to make a break for home.
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Bri McKhann struck out five for Wood-Ridge, which fell to 3-5 on the season. |
Crystal Arendas threw it to Rose, who turned and relayed a throw to the plate. Clarke made the tag just as Wyrostek was sliding in to provide an fitting end to a game that had many twists and turns throughout.
“I didn’t even see the interference call, I just reacted to the ball coming in from center,” said Rose. “I know Bailey (Wyrostek) is an aggressive player and that she might try to score on the play. When I saw that ball coming in, I just came out to cut it off and make the throw home.”
LaVarco (3-4, 4 RBI) led the way offensively for Becton (4-2). finishing a double shy of the cycle.. Faith Banca also had three hits with Rose adding a pair, including a two-run homer to center in the sixth inning. O’Shea gave up seven hits, walked seven, and had 3 Ks to improve to 3-0 on the season.
McKhann took the loss for Wood-Ridge (3-5). She issued two walks and struckout five. Brittany Larsen went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Not only was the win a character-builder for Becton, more importantly it was a league win. With the hopes for both county and state tournament berths this season, the Wildcats will take wins any way they can get them.
“We didn’t play our best but we played like a team,” said Rose. “This is a big win for us because (Wood-Ridge) is in our league. Everyone on our team was focused on the game the entire time right down to the last out. We wanted this game and it feels good to come out with a win.”
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