Lavada reaches milestone in 1-0 win over Fort Plain
By MIKE ZUMMO, The Leader-Herald
POSTED: May 22, 2008
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Fort Plain had the tying run at third base with two out when Ashley Smith hit a slow ground ball to shortstop. Sam Manoogian’s throw was high, but Cassie Christman reached full extension while holding the base as the throw arrived just ahead of Smith sealing Mayfield’s 1-0 win over the Lady Hilltoppers Wednesday.
“I can’t tell you the number of times we’ve been in this position where we have a lead in the seventh inning and runners on base and we always end up on the bad side of that,” Lavada said. “For once, we came out on top.”
Lavada entered the game needing seven strikeouts to record 500 in her three-year varsity career. She recorded the first three outs of the game via the strikeout and struck out six by the end of the third.
The Lady Hilltoppers (15-6 overall, 12-6 WAC) started making contact with the ball in the fourth.
However, in the fifth inning, Lavada got Smith to swing at a ball in the dirt and catcher Megan VanNostrand tagged Smith to complete Lavada’s 500th strikeout.
Lavada finished with eight strikeouts and scattered four hits in the shutout effort.
“We knew she needed seven strikeouts going into today,” Mayfield coach Doug King said. “We didn’t make a big deal out of it because we didn’t want to take the focus off the game.”
Fort Plain’s Souni Souvannason played third base the whole game and didn’t hit, but she went to the plate to start the seventh inning when the designated player’s spot came up and she singled to right field.
Fort Plain coach Don Stockwell sent Marie Sinchak in to run and Meagan Kane bunted her over to second and with third base unoccupied, Stockwell tried to wave her to third, but Sinchak didn’t pick him up.
“The last one there, if she was looking at me, she should have been on third base with one out,” Stockwell said. “Then, maybe I could have put on a squeeze.”
However, Stockwell called for another bunt and Kaitlyn Trembley moved Sinchak to third base with two outs and the Lady Hilltoppers needing a wild pitch, passed ball or base hit to tie as Lavada induced the game-ending grounder and the defense came through.
“We’ve been, all year, looking for today’s play,” King said. “We knew we had the talent, but we’ve been hitting potholes along the way. We had leads on Canajoharie and Spa Catholic and basically gave the games away.”
The Lady Panthers (11-9 overall, 9-8 Western Athletic Conference) picked up their only run of the game in the top of the first inning due to a two-out error by Fort Plain pitcher Kelly Budzik.
Taylor Miskinis hit a ground ball back to the circle, but Budzik’s throw got by first baseman Brittany Nellis and rolled up the line as Miskinis took second base.
Ashley Gallt lined a single to left field chasing Miskinis home with the game’s only run.
“The first run is what set us up for playing such good defense and keeping it together,” Lavada said. “Usually, we’ll have a couple of errors here and there and lose our leads, but that first run got us so pumped up and so ready to play.”
In most games this season, defense had been the Lady Panthers’ undoing. They weren’t perfect Wednesday and made their only error when second baseman Gallt overthrew Lavada after making a catch while falling backward for the first out of the fourth inning after Jillian Fredericks singled.
Fredericks took third on a passed ball, but Stephanie Searles popped to first and Kane grounded to Gallt.
Lavada walked Budzik with one out in the fifth, but VanNostrand cut her down trying to steal second base as Manoogian put the tag on just in time.
“Over the last two years, our trademark has been defense and throwing kids out when they lead off too far and try to steal,” King said. “Our 10th grader pegged that girl out at second. That was huge today and that’s a freshman that receives the ball for us.”
That play loomed large as Fredericks followed by doubling to right field with the bases empty. Nellis flew out to Brooke Mawery in center field to end the inning.
Budzik allowed just the one unearned run on five Mayfield hits. She struck out five and walked one.
“We had people in scoring position and we’re not putting the bat on the ball,” Stockwell said. “We played good defense except for that one play. Budzik pitched pretty well.”
Mayfield 1, Fort Plain 0
Mayfield 100 000 0 – 1 5 1
Fort Plain 000 000 0 – 0 4 2
Lavada and VanNostrand; Budzik and Kane
