ARGYLE - The Orioles stood alongside the sign that read, "You must be this tall to ride" and never broke their proud smile.
Even in a losing effort, Heidi Ganshert's girls found out Tuesday night that their game should be big enough for them to ride the proverbial rollercoaster even deeper into the postseason than a year ago, even if Belmont's Sara Carey single-handedly knocked them down a peg in the Braves' 3-2 victory.
After falling handily, 8-0, to the Six Rivers crossover foe last year in the WIAA Division 4 sectional semifinals, Argyle took a 2-1 lead into the top of the seventh before a swinging bunt set up some momentary heartbreak.
The Braves' ninth batter, Tara Rand chopped a 3-1 pitch down the third-base line that Argyle starter Brittany Flannery pounced on. The senior pitcher's throw, however, short-hopped first baseman Sierra Granberg as Rand hightailed down the line.
Braves starter Brooke Morrissey went from first to third.
Two pitches into the next at bat, Carey clocked a long ball over the head of left fielder Kelsey Ostby that went for a 2-run triple.
"She's already gotten out twice with the bases loaded, so I felt pretty good about our chances," Belmont coach Jeff Hodgson said.
"I'd been pretty nervous the entire game but just figured it was my time to step up," Carey said.
Nobody saw, or heard, the heartbreaking bomb better than Argyle's catcher.
"Just hearing it come off the bat, you knew it was a heck of a hit," Fischer said.
Fischer rocketed a wake-up call single with one out in the bottom half.
"I think that woke us up," Ganshert said. "I'm going to be sad someday when these girls aren't around because they know how and when to light that fire."
Next, Flannery followed with a pop-up that was misplayed by Morrissey before Ostby flared a single over first that put runners at all stations with one away.
Granberg lost a seven-pitch battle with Morrissey as she went down looking and sophomore Jackie Dammen bounced out harmlessly to Morrissey, but Ganshert was all smiles when she saw her team keep their heads up after the final.
"I'm ecstatic about the outcome," Ganshert said. "We had one ball that was an excellent hit aside from that we played a great ballgame."
The same way the Braves rolled over their lineup at a crucial moment, Argyle built a 2-0 lead in the second inning with the bottom half of the lineup card. Ostby slammed a double to deep left to open the rally before Granberg reached. After a pair of strikeouts, Chelsea Zersen drove them both home from her spot in the nine hole.
"That's her job as the bottom hitter is to role us over to the top and she's used to coming through," Fischer said.
Zersen also made an eye-popping snag on a laser at second base to quell Belmont's seventh-inning rally.
"She comes up big when we need her to and never fails to do her job," Ganshert said.
Fischer and Ostby both collected two hits in the opener for Argyle. Flannery, a first-year ace, showed amazing resilience as she stranded 12 Braves and was effectively wild as she issued nine walks but kept wriggling off the hook.
"We had a lot of girls on base and couldn't push any across," Belmont coach Jeff Hodgson said. "(Flannery) hung in there all night and wouldn't let us get anything across."
The Braves improved to 3-0 after defeating their first two opponents by a combined margin of 21-3.
"Losing to one of the best teams in the state is nothing to shake your head at," Fischer said.
"We came in with bigger heads than we needed and they showed us our weaknesses," Morrissey said. "We don't trail very much."
Even in a losing effort, Heidi Ganshert's girls found out Tuesday night that their game should be big enough for them to ride the proverbial rollercoaster even deeper into the postseason than a year ago, even if Belmont's Sara Carey single-handedly knocked them down a peg in the Braves' 3-2 victory.
After falling handily, 8-0, to the Six Rivers crossover foe last year in the WIAA Division 4 sectional semifinals, Argyle took a 2-1 lead into the top of the seventh before a swinging bunt set up some momentary heartbreak.
The Braves' ninth batter, Tara Rand chopped a 3-1 pitch down the third-base line that Argyle starter Brittany Flannery pounced on. The senior pitcher's throw, however, short-hopped first baseman Sierra Granberg as Rand hightailed down the line.
Braves starter Brooke Morrissey went from first to third.
Two pitches into the next at bat, Carey clocked a long ball over the head of left fielder Kelsey Ostby that went for a 2-run triple.
"She's already gotten out twice with the bases loaded, so I felt pretty good about our chances," Belmont coach Jeff Hodgson said.
"I'd been pretty nervous the entire game but just figured it was my time to step up," Carey said.
Nobody saw, or heard, the heartbreaking bomb better than Argyle's catcher.
"Just hearing it come off the bat, you knew it was a heck of a hit," Fischer said.
Fischer rocketed a wake-up call single with one out in the bottom half.
"I think that woke us up," Ganshert said. "I'm going to be sad someday when these girls aren't around because they know how and when to light that fire."
Next, Flannery followed with a pop-up that was misplayed by Morrissey before Ostby flared a single over first that put runners at all stations with one away.
Granberg lost a seven-pitch battle with Morrissey as she went down looking and sophomore Jackie Dammen bounced out harmlessly to Morrissey, but Ganshert was all smiles when she saw her team keep their heads up after the final.
"I'm ecstatic about the outcome," Ganshert said. "We had one ball that was an excellent hit aside from that we played a great ballgame."
The same way the Braves rolled over their lineup at a crucial moment, Argyle built a 2-0 lead in the second inning with the bottom half of the lineup card. Ostby slammed a double to deep left to open the rally before Granberg reached. After a pair of strikeouts, Chelsea Zersen drove them both home from her spot in the nine hole.
"That's her job as the bottom hitter is to role us over to the top and she's used to coming through," Fischer said.
Zersen also made an eye-popping snag on a laser at second base to quell Belmont's seventh-inning rally.
"She comes up big when we need her to and never fails to do her job," Ganshert said.
Fischer and Ostby both collected two hits in the opener for Argyle. Flannery, a first-year ace, showed amazing resilience as she stranded 12 Braves and was effectively wild as she issued nine walks but kept wriggling off the hook.
"We had a lot of girls on base and couldn't push any across," Belmont coach Jeff Hodgson said. "(Flannery) hung in there all night and wouldn't let us get anything across."
The Braves improved to 3-0 after defeating their first two opponents by a combined margin of 21-3.
"Losing to one of the best teams in the state is nothing to shake your head at," Fischer said.
"We came in with bigger heads than we needed and they showed us our weaknesses," Morrissey said. "We don't trail very much."
