By Carlton D. White
Marietta Daily Journal Sports Writer
KENNESAW - One more win to decide it all. Top-ranked Kennesaw Mountain took another step towards claiming their first Region 5AAAAA crown with a resounding 8-0 home victory over 10th-ranked North Cobb on Wednesday in the first game of the best-of-three championship series.
"The team did well hitting the ball tonight," said Lady Mustangs (26-4) head coach Lisa Chapman. "We were aggressive on the bases and forced the action.
"But, we were one game away last year. We beat Woodstock the first game and they came back the next night and beat us twice. So, our girls haven't forgotten about that. I'm just trying to keep them down to Earth and take it one game at a time."
Senior Erin O'Shea kept the Lady Warriors (20-8) off balance all night. She pitched a no-hitter into the seventh before giving up her only hit of the contest and only allowed three runners past first the entire game.
After giving up a walk to the first batter she faced, O'Shea proceeded to swiftly and decisively retire batters, facing the minimum number in innings two, five and six, while not facing more than four in any other inning. She ended the contest with nine strikeouts and two walks.
"I didn't realize Erin had a no-hitter going into that last inning," Chapman expressed. "It was good for her. She wasn't as sharp as she normally is and she still held (North Cobb) to one hit, so it was good for her to do that."
"I had no idea (I was pitching a no-hitter), explained O'Shea. "But, I was falling behind a lot, but I kept trying to put it in there.
"I was trying to keep (the Lady Warriors) off their toes. I know they have some good hitters. I was just trying to keep it away from them. My defense helped me out whenever they did hit it."
Not only did O'Shea's defense help out, but so did her offense.
Junior first baseman Tatum Vanloan was the catalyst for the Lady Mustangs offense. After being sidelined for several games with an ankle injury, Vanloan was back in the lineup at the third spot for only the second time since the injury. She finished the game hitting 4-for-4 with three RBI.
Senior shortstop Ashley Pauley was also solid, connecting on 3-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored and two RBI.
"I didn't really do as well as I normally do," expressed Vanloan on her effort at the plate. "I felt like I wasn't coming through as I much as I could. But I tried to do whatever I could to bring up the team and keep the team up.
"Normally, I hit it harder than I what I did tonight. But, I did what I had to do to get the runners in."
Kennesaw Moutain took a 1-0 lead in the first after Jennifer Fenton was hit by a pitch, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored following a Pauley single.
The score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the fourth when Krista Kennedy plated Brittany Lundgren from second.
Although O'Shea was cruising, the lead never felt safe for the Lady Mustangs. And in the fifth, KMHS tacked on three more runs as Vanloan scored Chelsea Johnson and Jennifer Fenton from second and third, and Kristin Marko scored pinch runner Rodriguez from third, giving KMHS a 5-0 advantage.
The Lady Mustangs scored three more in the bottom of the sixth en route to the 8-0 win.
"I thought we played a fine ball game up until the fourth inning," said North Cobb head coach Jo Beth Weaver.
"It was a 1-0 game. We just made a bunch of miscues on defense today, which is not indicative of this team.
"I have to hand it to (KMHS), they hit the ball when they needed to hit the ball. We just have to play the kind of defense that we're use to playing and get some more confidence in our bats. Our hitters need to take control."
Game two is scheduled for 5 p.m. this afternoon at KMHS with a potential third game set for 7 p.m. Kennesaw Mountain has finished as Region runners-up in 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2006, but has yet to win the title.
O'Shea has been a part of each of the last three teams.
"We've been here three years in a row and we are hungry for it," O'Shea stated. "I was on those three teams. We want a region championship and we'll do whatever it takes to win it."
Comment on this Story
Posted Comments