Allison Nastali (left) and Chloe Marzocca are part of a Central Whidbey Little League Juniors softball squad which has won five straight. (Jennifer Marzocca photo)
Don’t count ’em out.
Trailing by three runs entering the final frame Monday, the Central Whidbey Little League Juniors softball squad rallied to force extra innings, then KO’d their archrivals.
Scoring the game’s final seven runs, the Hammerheads pulled out a 15-11 win in eight innings, knocking off North Whidbey for a second-straight time, and running their winning streak to five games.
With the victory, Central Whidbey improves to 5-2 on the season.
“Well, that was wild,” said Hammerheads coach Fred Farris. “The girls were not their usual self in the field, but there is some weird voodoo at that park.
“But the heart and will to win of this group is just remarkable,” he added. “Everyone contributed in one way or another.”
Central Whidbey scored in each of the first four innings Monday, building an 8-4 lead exiting the top of the fourth.
Then, a momentary road bump.
North Whidbey scraped out four runs in its half of the fourth to knot things at 8-8, then pushed across another three in the fifth to take the lead.
After going scoreless in the fifth and sixth, the Hammerheads needed a spark in the seventh, and they got it from the booming bat of Taylor Brotemarkle.
She thumped a triple to deep right field, before Central Whidbey took advantage of a dropped third strike with Katie Marti at the plate, then walks to Allison Nastali and Teagan Calkins.
Once on the base paths, the Hammerheads seized the opportunity.
“Savvy base running, which is one of our trademarks through the years, really made a difference,” Farris said.
In the eighth, four Central Whidbey sluggers stepped up big, with Savina Wells and Brotemarkle bashing doubles, while Jada Heaton and Nastali scorched hard-hit singles.
Back on top, the Hammerheads set their Northern rivals down one-two-three in the bottom half of the inning, with Central hurler Wells closing the game by whiffing the other team’s best hitter.
“Savina was really dialed in again and came right from high school basketball practice to Volunteer Park,” Farris said. “Like Deion Sanders on a dual football/baseball day.
“She’s really become adept at mixing pitches and locations specifically to the batters.”
Savina Wells was a two-way star Monday, excelling in the pitcher’s circle and in the batter’s box. (Jackie Saia photo)
Wells was a wild woman at the plate, as well, collecting a team-high three hits, with all going for extra bases.
A pair of doubles set the stage, while a triple which carried 200+ feet to center was topped off with “a textbook slide to get under the tag.”
Brotemarkle added a triple and double of her own, with Madison McMillan crunching a triple and Calkins smoking a two-bagger.
Seven of 11 Hammerhead hitters put up a base-knock, with Mia Farris joining Brotemarkle and McMillan in the two-hit club.
Marti and Chloe Marzocca scored after walking, as nine Central Whidbey players came around to tap home plate.
