VIRGINIA BEACH – A strong RBI double in the fifth inning was all the visiting Western Branch softball team needed Tuesday to end the Kellam Knights’ season and advance from the 6A South Region quarterfinals.
With sophomore right fielder Kaleigh Beale on second and two outs, senior shortstop Kristen Creekmore smacked a double far into the outfield, plating Beale for the game’s only run.
“Kristin Creekmore has come through in clutch situations like that before, and honestly when she’s up I’m not nervous at all,” Western Branch coach Sarah Wright said after her team’s 1-0 victory.
Freshman starting pitcher Madison Koonce starred for the Bruins along with Creekmore. She pitched a complete game shutout, giving up five hits, and struck out the Knights’ last batter to end the game.
“Madison just really hit her spots and located the ball where we called for it,” Wright said.
For Kellam, sophomore starting pitcher Krista Waller went the distance as well, striking out two, walking one and giving up the one earned run.
The final score didn’t reflect all the action in the game, as both teams put runners in scoring position several times but failed to get them home. In the top of the fourth, Western Branch sophomore Gabrielle Vaughan hit a double and advanced to third before the Knights made the third out and escaped the inning.
Kellam’s best chance to tie the game and retake momentum with their home-field advantage came in the bottom of the sixth, when Hannah Hummel hit a double and the Knights had runners on second and third. The inning ended the next at-bat on a pop-up.
Defense shined over offense for both sides in what was an uncharacteristically quiet night for the teams’ bats. The game was a pitcher’s duel and a fielder’s battle, as the outfield and outer edge of the infield became hot spots for flyouts. Western Branch had an edge there, quickly shifting to hold advancing batters from getting multi-base hits.
“Our outfield works on angles every day at practice,” Wright said. “We always tell them if it’s a base hit, as long as you run the angle and cut them off, hold them from the extra bases, you’re doing your job.”
For Kellam, the Coastal Conference regular season champs, the season is over. Wright and the Bruins move on to face Cosby Wednesday in the regional semifinals.
“We actually haven’t faced [Cosby] since Kristin Creekmore and Elizabeth Andrews were freshmen,” Wright said. “They’re pretty tough, so I know it’s going to be a good game.”
