Sporting WCA
Home / FALL SPORTS / Varsity Softball Loses 2-1 on Walkoff in Regular Season Finale

Varsity Softball Loses 2-1 on Walkoff in Regular Season Finale

Varsity Softball lost to Parkway Central by a score of 2-1 on a walkoff single on Monday afternoon. The loss brought the team’s final record to 11-11-1 for the season.

The first five innings were scoreless. Parkway Central put at least two runners on base with fewer than two outs three times, but Senior Pitcher Dani Mabry worked artfully around the Central lineup to preserve the shutout.

In the sixth, Sophomore First Baseman Nicki Mabry, batting 5th, reached base on a single. She was followed by Junior Second Baseman Katie Hobaugh, who was hit by a pitch, advancing Mabry. With runners on first and second base, first year player Rachel Arndt ripped a single into centerfield, scoring Mabry from second and breaking the 0-0 tie.

Up 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth, Parkway Central squeaked across a run to make it 1-1. When the Westminster offense stalled in the top of the seventh, Dani Mabry needed three outs to keep the game at 1-1. However, Central put runners on first and second, and with two outs, a single to right field gave them the walkoff 2-1 victory.

The team never expected to finish with a .500 record. Four of the varsity starters had never played softball before. Among the new players, their average was .182. They combined for 39 hits on the season. The year was not overly successful, and it certainly isn’t over yet, but it was far more competitive than anyone would’ve expected.

Dani Mabry pitched every game for the team this season.

Reese Earleywine was the clear leader of the offense. Hitting third, she led the Wildcats in average (.515), hits (34), RBIs (29), Home Runs (2), and slugging pct. (.773). She received support from the rest of the top of the lineup around her, including Dani Mabry, Lauren Gates, Katelynn Graham, and Nicki Mabry.

The team will most likely play Rosati-Kain on Thursday in Districts. The Cougars are 17-4, but one of those four losses came to the Wildcats in a 10-7 game early in the season. A win at Districts is not expected, but it’s not out of the question. The district’s best team is Incarnate Word, who beat Westminster by a modest score of 8-2 already this season.

The season is already a positive. Its success or failure will not be determined on the result of Districts, but this team in 2018 has started to develop a tradition at Westminster.