Two hits were all they got, but one – albeit very long – hit was all Tabb’s softball team needed to continue their upstart season and stun the Bay Rivers District’s last unbeaten team.
Smithfield came into Tuesday’s matchup at Tabb High School with an unblemished record behind the strength of pitcher Sydney Gay, who has been nearly unhittable over the Packers’ first eight games.
The fireballer got off to her usual imposing start on Tuesday, striking out Tabb’s first nine batters in a flurry of whiffs and 70 mph heat.
Through five innings, the only times a Tiger managed to even put the ball in play were on a pop-up to 3rd base and two sacrifice bunts.
But Tabb’s own ace, sophomore Ashtyn Clark, matched Gay out for out, scattering four hits and one walk through the first six frames.
With two outs in Tabb’s half of the 6th inning, Kendall Woodell barely slid into second base after Packers left-fielder dropped her short fly ball. Shortstop Jordan Brewer came to bat, hoping for just one hittable pitch after striking out on her first two trips to the plate. Brewer connected on the second pitch she saw, blasting it over the centerfield fence.
“That one I just got a hold of it,” Brewer said. “Something had to happen sooner or later. They couldn’t score on us, so we didn’t have any reason to get down. Holding them [scoreless] made us want to fight more because we had just as much chance as they did to get a run.”
Clark closed out the win in the 7th by fielding a ground ball back up the middle, then striking out her third batter of the game for the inning’s second out. A walk and a single put Packers on second and third before first baseman Caitlyn Bentley calmly fielded the ensuing ground ball and beat the runner back to first base for the final out.
The win moves Tabb to 7-2 on the season, and improves Clark’s record to 6-1. She finished Tuesday’s game with three strikeouts and two walks—numbers not as imposing as Gay’s, but on the mound stands shoulder to shoulder with any pitcher in the district, said her coach, Ashley Meredith.
“Ashtyn is a very quiet, confident, coachable kid. There’s not a single complaint I could have,” Meredith said. “She’s worked her butt off in this past offseason, and it’s shown. In my eyes, there’s never been a doubt she’s up there with the best.”
The stellar outing by Clark, coupled with Brewers’ two-run blast, cemented Tabb’s claim that, this year, the Tigers are for real.
“We’ve had a few rough seasons,” said Meredith, who’s in her fifth year at Tabb’s helm. “We don’t get any respect; they pick us close to dead last every year. Finally we’re getting the respect we deserve.”
Tabb 2 Smithfield 0
Smithfield- 000;000;0 – 0 6 1
Tabb- 000;002;x – 2 6 1
WP: Ashtyn Clark (6-1)
LP: Sydney Gay
