Senior Kayla St. John scored both of her team’s runs and caught the final batter of the game looking at strike three as Tabb’s softball team clinched a spot in the Group AA state tournament Wednesday with a 2-1 victory in nine innings over Bay Rivers District rival Smithfield in the Region I semifinals.
Tigers coach Ashley Meredith couldn’t have scripted it any better herself.
“No one deserves this more than Kayla,” Meredith said. “She’s been one of the best players in our area, one of the easiest to coach and the leader of this team for a while.
“We haven’t been all that successful as a team the past few years, so I’m thrilled for her, but also that I get to coach her two more games.”
Tabb entered Wednesday’s matchup 1-1 against Smithfield this season after dealing the Packers their first loss of the season (2-0) back in mid-April thanks to a two-run home run by Jordan Brewer, one of the Tigers’ six hits on the day.
Tabb (16-6) didn’t have near the same success off Smithfield’s Sydney Gay this time around, managing just two hits off the sophomore star while striking out 14 times, but the Tigers took advantage of costly mistakes by making the Packers (20-3) pay for each of its two errors.
In the top of the fifth, St. John walked and later scored the first run of the game on a passed ball to give Tabb a 1-0 lead.
Tabb also got another excellent pitching performance from sophomore Ashtyn Clark, who allowed one unearned run – which came on a controversial call in the bottom of the seventh – and six hits over eight and one-third innings before St. John came in to close the door in the ninth.
Smithfield’s game-tying run came with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and a runner on second after Tabb center fielder Taylor Rue bobbled the potential game-ending catch. Rue appeared to recover and make the catch, but umpires ruled the ball hit the ground, which allowed Mallory Jaax to score easily from second.
With the score knotted 1-1 in the top of the ninth, St. John reached on an error and advanced on Morgan Wooddell’s bunt before scoring on an errant throw to first base.
Tabb athletic director Susan Wiker could not confirm the Tigers’ last state tournament appearance Wednesday night, but Meredith says it couldn’t have been since 1999, which is the last time the program advanced to the regional tournament.
Tabb will play at King George, which defeated New Kent 1-0 in Wednesday’s other Region I semifinal, in the region final Friday.
“It’s surreal,” Meredith said of securing a berth to states. “I wish I could put it into words; I’m just so proud of my girls. It was great to see them run straight up to each other laughing and hugging after the game.”
Warhill Baseball Writing the History Books
Over the past two weeks, Warhill’s baseball team has captured the program’s first Bay Rivers District tournament title and won a regional playoff game for the first time.
On Wednesday, the Lions became the first boys sports team in school history to clinch a state tournament berth by defeating previously unbeaten Southampton 6-4 in the Region I semifinals.
Blake Wills continued his stellar pitching on the mound, needing just 90 pitches to get through all seven innings while surrendering two earned runs to go along with eight strikeouts.
The Lions (19-4) fell behind 1-0 after the first inning, but scored four runs in the top of the third to take the lead for good on RBI base hits by Pat Daly, Hunter Hux, Thomas Richardson and Michael Brumfield.
After Southampton (16-1) got one run back in the fourth, Warhill padded its lead to 6-2 in the top of the sixth on an Indians’ throwing error and a RBI infield base hit by Wills that drove in Luke Patterson, who walked and stole second to begin the inning.
Southampton chipped away at the deficit in the bottom of the sixth with two runs after stringing together four consecutive hits off Wills to make it 6-4. The Indians were threatening again in the bottom of the seventh with a pair of base hits, but Wills buckled down and got two consecutive outs to strand runners on first and second and end the game.
“I could see why that team was undefeated,” Warhill coach Joe Henzel said of Southampton. “They were gritty and kept battling back. But Blake Wills was the difference. He was just tough today, bottom line.”
The Lions can add more ink to the history books Friday when they host Culpeper at 6:30 in the Region I championship. A victory would grant Warhill its first-ever Region I title, as well as a home game in next week’s Group AA state quarterfinals.
“It wasn’t all that long ago that we were a ninth, 10th place team in the Bay Rivers, so this is a very proud moment,” Henzel added. “But when you make it this far, the aspirations are always to push on, so we’re by no means content.
“We’d certainly like to be the Region I champs.”
