Softball: Scotties break out in seventh, rally past Sheridan

THORNVILLE — Sheridan might have one of its most inexperienced teams in recent years, but Brian Sterling wasn't going to let his team be lured into a false sense of security.

It was a good thing, as his team faced a 4-3 deficit through five innings of their season opener in the Muskingum Valley League-Big School Division on Tuesday night.

Fortunately for the Scotties, the meat of their batting order arrived just in time.

Sheridan erased a 3-1 deficit with a three-run fourth, but sophomore Caity Journey's two-out RBI single tied it in the sixth, then a key throwing error led to a four-run seventh that allowed the Scotties to pull away for an 8-5 win.

The Scotties' late rally started with a walk to lead-off hitter Keyona Murphy, and Mackenzie Hatrum bunted in attempt to sacrifice. She got the bunt down and reached when the throw to first base sailed into right field, putting runners on second and third with no outs.

Sheridan's troubles were only beginning. Falon Wolford and Kierra Joseph, who had three hits, followed with singles to make it 6-4 with still no outs. The Generals then got a strikeout, but freshman Paiton Murphy singled home Wolford and Joseph scored on a fielders choice to add to the lead.

It was the breathing room the Scotties needed. Sheridan scored in the bottom of the inning when Addison Grosse tripled and came home on a groundout, but the the Generals got no closer.

Tri-Valley won the first of what figures to be a litany of closely contested games in the Big School Division, where veteran teams are abound.

"Sheridan is always tough and has been tough for the last several years," Sterling said. "We knew coming down here to start off our season was going to be a great challenge for us to see where we were. That's how we looked at it. It was a tough challenge, but the girls came to play."

Sheridan coach Troy Wolfe, whose team is replacing five senior starters off a 22-7 team that reached the district finals, knew the seventh inning had the makings of a rough go for his team. The error exacerbated its problems.

"They had the meat of their lineup up," Wolfe said. "That's a very talented group of kids that can do damage."

Frigid conditions in the low 40s at game time and even lower by the later innings made for difficult conditions, but Scotties junior Belle Baughman and Sheridan freshman Cora Hall and gave their teams steady pitching efforts before hitting late snags.

Baughman allowed a first-inning run when Cate Conrad singled and scored on a two-out wild pitch, but she allowed only one runner reach second base before Sheridan rallied in the fifth.

Speedy Payge Nihiser led off with a bunt single and moved up when Grosse walked, then Conrad's sacrfice put runners on second and third with one out.

The timing couldn't have been better, as top hitter Avery Mueller, who hit .546 as a freshman, and Hall followed with singles to tie the game. One batter later, an error in right field allowed Mueller to score from third to send Sheridan ahead, 4-3.

But the Scotties' veterans, particularly their big bats, showed their poise. Wolford, the team's No. 3 hitter and a first-team All-East District pick as a sophomore, said the team has been preparing for difficult games like this one since the start of practices.

All but two players off of last year's roster return from a 19-9 team that had the lead on unbeaten John Glenn in the final inning of a bitter loss in the district finals. Paiton Murphy and Journey are among the key additions.

"We went through a lot of hardships with coming together as a team, but we are finally here," said Wolford, who batted .480 with 11 homers in 2021. "We needed to communicate better. We have a few underclassmen with us now, but I feel like we're stronger and better than ever. I feel like we're more of a team (than last year) and there is more friendship and sisterhood. (The freshmen) are like our little sisters. We're bringing them along for the ride."

Joseph finished with two doubles and a single, Journey added three singles and Regan Smith doubled and scored the tying run in the sixth, as Tri-Valley totaled 12 hits.

Mueller's two singles and two RBIs led Sheridan's seven-hit attack. Grosse reached three times and scored twice.

Wolfe, in his 11th season, saw Tuesday's game as one that will only benefit his team as it gains experience. Six key players are back, but three-time first-team All-Ohioan Taylor Pagan. All-Southeast District performer Makayla Sheridan and Alyssa Gettys, who is currently playing at Tiffin, are among the departed.

Four of the six infielders are first-year starters.

"It's one day at a time," Wolfe said. "We went toe to toe with a pretty doggone good softball team there. We took their best shot and we gave them a battle. Now we've got to go to Philo (on Wednesday) for another tough test. This division is good. And it's not just this division — there are good teams in the small division too. So you'd better come to play."

Early results are promising. Wolfe likes his team's fight.

"You don't know what you're going to get the first time out," Wolfe said. "We could have folded at 3-1 but we battled and took the lead. They had a nice little seeing-eye single that tied it up."

sblackbu@gannett.com

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Twitter: @SamBlackburn

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Softball: Tri-Valley Scotties break out late, rally past Sheridan