BLANCHARDVILLE - There were so many walks in Tuesday's Black Hawk-Pecatonica softball matchup that the sun threatened to set on the game.
The Six Rivers East foes combined to walk 38 batters, but what was left of the sun eventually shined on Black Hawk, which scored four unearned runs in the eighth inning to win 15-11 and spoil the Vikings' comeback
Pecatonica erased a five-run deficit to force extra innings, but couldn't overcome the walks and four errors.
"It's agony and ecstasy, I guess," Pecatonica coach Chuck Meyer said. "We battled back. We just need to believe in ourselves."
After Kim Wellnitz walked two batters to lead off the seventh inning, Black Hawk coach Roger Jackson went to relief pitcher Kayla Melland. She induced Pecatonica sophomore Ellie Gifford, who was 2-for-4 with two RBI, to roll into an unassisted double play by Black Hawk senior Gabi Lehner.
The Vikings (1-6, 0-2) were down to their final out in the seventh and Melland struck out Kaci Cassidy. The dropped third strike allowed Cassidy to reach.
Cassidy pitched eight innings and gave up five earned runs. She walked 19 and hit three batters. Thirteen of the 22 batters she walked or hit came around to score.
The Warriors' four-run eighth came without a hit. Cassidy walked the bases loaded in the eighth and walked in a run. A dropped pop-up led to two more runs, sealing the win.
Meyer said he considered turning to someone else, but he knows Cassidy is the team's experienced pitcher.
"She is our workhorse," Meyer said. "We are kind of living and dying with her. We have some other pitchers who haven't seen any varsity experience. We have some girls who can throw who don't want to throw."
Black Hawk scored three unearned runs in the first. Cassidy received a break as she worked out of a no-out, bases-loaded jam in the fourth.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Warriors' defense bailed out Kim Wellnitz, who pitched six innings and walked 16 and hit one.
Lehner went 2-for-4, scored three runs and had five of the Warriors' eight stolen bases.
"It was pretty intense," Lehner said. "(Pecatonica has) improved a lot since last year. They came back and had some good hits. We just pulled it off."
Gifford smoked a go-ahead two-run double to give the Vikings a 6-5 lead.
"She was way off," Jackson said of Wellnitz's wild night.
The Warriors appeared to break the game open with a five-run fifth. Melissa Wellnitz crushed an RBI triple to left and came in to score when the relay throw bounced away from third to give the Warriors an 8-6 lead.
Pecatonica rallied from an 11-6 deficit by taking advantage of some wildness by Kim Wellnitz. She walked six in the sixth as the Vikings scored four unearned runs to cut the Warriors' lead to 11-10.
The Six Rivers East foes combined to walk 38 batters, but what was left of the sun eventually shined on Black Hawk, which scored four unearned runs in the eighth inning to win 15-11 and spoil the Vikings' comeback
Pecatonica erased a five-run deficit to force extra innings, but couldn't overcome the walks and four errors.
"It's agony and ecstasy, I guess," Pecatonica coach Chuck Meyer said. "We battled back. We just need to believe in ourselves."
After Kim Wellnitz walked two batters to lead off the seventh inning, Black Hawk coach Roger Jackson went to relief pitcher Kayla Melland. She induced Pecatonica sophomore Ellie Gifford, who was 2-for-4 with two RBI, to roll into an unassisted double play by Black Hawk senior Gabi Lehner.
The Vikings (1-6, 0-2) were down to their final out in the seventh and Melland struck out Kaci Cassidy. The dropped third strike allowed Cassidy to reach.
Cassidy pitched eight innings and gave up five earned runs. She walked 19 and hit three batters. Thirteen of the 22 batters she walked or hit came around to score.
The Warriors' four-run eighth came without a hit. Cassidy walked the bases loaded in the eighth and walked in a run. A dropped pop-up led to two more runs, sealing the win.
Meyer said he considered turning to someone else, but he knows Cassidy is the team's experienced pitcher.
"She is our workhorse," Meyer said. "We are kind of living and dying with her. We have some other pitchers who haven't seen any varsity experience. We have some girls who can throw who don't want to throw."
Black Hawk scored three unearned runs in the first. Cassidy received a break as she worked out of a no-out, bases-loaded jam in the fourth.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Warriors' defense bailed out Kim Wellnitz, who pitched six innings and walked 16 and hit one.
Lehner went 2-for-4, scored three runs and had five of the Warriors' eight stolen bases.
"It was pretty intense," Lehner said. "(Pecatonica has) improved a lot since last year. They came back and had some good hits. We just pulled it off."
Gifford smoked a go-ahead two-run double to give the Vikings a 6-5 lead.
"She was way off," Jackson said of Wellnitz's wild night.
The Warriors appeared to break the game open with a five-run fifth. Melissa Wellnitz crushed an RBI triple to left and came in to score when the relay throw bounced away from third to give the Warriors an 8-6 lead.
Pecatonica rallied from an 11-6 deficit by taking advantage of some wildness by Kim Wellnitz. She walked six in the sixth as the Vikings scored four unearned runs to cut the Warriors' lead to 11-10.
