Central Whidbey Little League Juniors softball players celebrate a win. (Jackie Saia photos)
“That was a fun day of softball!”
Central Whidbey Little League Juniors softball coach Fred Farris has seen more than a few games in his lifetime, but Saturday’s doubleheader in Mount Vernon was a special treat.
His Hammerheads squad ultimately split a pair of games with South Skagit, falling 9-7 in the opener, before rallying for a stunning 17-16 win in extra innings in the nightcap.
With the split, Central Whidbey improves to 1-2 on the season, with its first home game at Rhododendron Park set for this coming Monday.
How Saturday played out:
Game 1:
Savina Wells was back in the pitcher’s circle after missing her team’s opener with an injury and was firing BB’s, striking out 11 South Skagit sluggers.
Central Whidbey jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, before a few defensive miscues hurt the cause.
Trailing 6-2 after two innings, the Hammerheads stormed back to tie things up at 6-6, but South Skagit proved wily and put together a three-run bottom of the sixth to take the win.
Mia Farris, Madison McMillan, and Katie Marti led the hit parade, each whacking a pair of base-knocks.
McMillan crunched a double and triple, with her three-bagger “a majestic fly ball that would have been 30 feet over our left field fence (at home),” while Wells also tripled.
Send out your best pitchers, cause Madison McMillan is here to do some damage.
Game 2:
Hammerheads hurlers Chloe Marzocca and Wells combined to whiff 10 hitters in a game which took wild swings on the scoreboard.
Down 14-7, Central Whidbey scored nine unanswered runs to carry a 16-14 lead into the bottom of the seventh, and (supposedly) final inning.
While South Skagit scraped out two runs in the final frame, giving the fans free softball, it was time for the Hammerheads to shine in extra innings.
Jada Heaton began the top of the eighth perched on second, then ran her opponents ragged.
First she stole third, before scampering home with what would prove to be the winning run on a groundout off the bat of Marzocca.
Things got dramatic in the bottom of the inning, but in a good way.
South Skagit also got a runner at second to begin, but Wells snapped off liquid heat, whiffing the first two hitters to come to the plate.
With the game on the line, a pitch got away from Central catcher Katie Marti for a half-second, but the granddaughter of former CHS football legend Paul Messner promptly wrote her own stirring chapter of athletic success.
“Katie made a perfect retrieval of a passed ball and then a no-look flip to Savina for the game-ending out!,” exclaimed an amped-up Fred Farris. “As gutty a win as I’ve ever been a part of!”
Katie Marti, upholding the family tradition of athletic excellence.
Stats for the day:
Teagan Calkins (one run, one hit)
Mia Farris (six runs, five hits, two RBI, two walks)
Savina Wells (six runs, four hits, four RBI, two walks)
Madison McMillan (two runs, four hits, two RBI)
Chloe Marzocca (two runs, two RBI, three walks)
Mayleen Weatherford (one hit, one RBI, one walk)
Taylor Brotemarkle (two runs, three hits, four RBI, one walk)
Jada Heaton (three runs, two hits)
Candace Meek (two RBI, two walks)
Anna Steckman (one run, one walk)
Katie Marti (one run, five hits)
