Taylor Brotemarkle charges in to snag a hot ground ball Thursday, as the Central Whidbey Little League Majors softball squad bounces its arch-rivals. (Photos by Jackie Saia)
Katie Marti (right) celebrates with teammate Allison Nastali, who dropped down the game-winning bunt single.
“My heart is still rapidly beating. Really was a great game.”
Fred Farris has seen a lot of games play out, as an athlete and a coach, but what went down Thursday night might have been a first for him.
His Central Whidbey Little League Majors softball team rallied from two runs down, then KO’d their arch-rivals on a walk-off bunt single.
When Allison Nastali dropped a madly-spinning ball which kissed the first-base line and somehow, miraculously, stayed fair, it sent Hammerheads teammate Taylor Brotemarkle screaming home with the winning run.
And the 5-4 victory, over the visiting North Whidbey Bandits, was major payback for Central Whidbey’s only loss of the season, which came just two days ago.
Now sitting at a shiny 8-1 on the season, the Hammerheads proved they can win any way you like, by blowing out other teams, or by going toe-to-toe with their best rival.
It was a game which could have gone either way, but, in the end, fell in the win column for a team which “kept their cool and refused to lose.”
Central Whidbey pitcher Chloe Marzocca, who whiffed four in a complete-game performance, kept the Bandits at bay for four innings.
She got big-time help from her defense, and led 2-0 headed into the top of the fifth in a six-inning game.
“We played almost flawless defense for four innings and Chloe was awesome on the mound,” Farris said.
“Brionna (Blouin) was absolutely phenomenal at third, gunning down four runners at first,” he added. “Mia (Farris) was equally impressive with her stretches on those plays and had four unassisted putouts at first, including a dive back to the bag to barely get a runner.”
The defense finally cracked – for just a bit – in the fifth, and North Whidbey took advantage, scraping out four runs to snatch the lead away.
But with Mayleen Weatherford “leading the way in keeping the girls believing they were going to come back and win,” the Hammerheads did exactly that.
Notching a run of their own in the fifth, thanks to Mia Farris showcasing some nicely aggressive base-running, Central Whidbey clamped down in the top of the sixth, holding their rivals scoreless.
Coming up for their final at-bats, the Hammerheads needed one to tie, two to win, and were facing North Whidbey’s ace, Reese Wasinger, who had baffled them two days ago.
This time, though, the bats won the battle.
Central Whidbey tied the royal rumble, then went for broke with Nastali at the plate, Brotemarkle dancing at third base, and down to its last out.
The bunt came off Nastali’s bat and danced a dangerous path right down the line, as Fred Farris and Co. went wild.
“Ball started just fair and spun for what seemed like a week before dying on the first baseline chalk,” the Hammerheads coach said.
“Taylor was up the line and crossing home before the ball had a second bounce,” Farris added. “Allison was up the line quick; their only hope was to let it go foul. I can’t believe it didn’t!”
The bunt single capped a two-hit day for Nastali, who also thumped a double.
Marzocca added two hits and a walk, with Brotemarkle (2), Teagan Calkins (2), Aleksia Jump (1), Weatherford (1), and Mia Farris also eking out free passes.
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