North Harrison made two baserunning mistakes and one defensive mistake, but overcame them to win the HDC Tournament Title with a 5-1 win over Mercer, their tenth in a row. Their last HDC Tournament loss was a 12-1 loss to Grundy County in the second round of the tournament back in 2010. They turned back a vastly improved Cardinal squad that gave North Harrison everything they could handle Saturday in the bitterly cold weather.
Jayliegh Robins singled to left, but then was promptly thrown out stealing to start the game, a play that fired up the Mercer squad for the rest of the game. But Robins would atone for that twice; once with a key play on the basepaths that led to an insurance run, and once with a key play in the field that preserved the win. North Harrison went on to score when Emma Craig tripled with two outs down the right field line as it bounced away from everyone, and Rainey Fordyce singled her home.
Jordan Coon hit a pop fly single in the second – a play that Fordyce, playing center, wanted back. She would get her wish later in the game. Coon came around to tie it at 1-1 when catcher Emma Craig failed to tag her at the plate, thinking it was a force. She, too, would atone for it when it mattered.
Meanwhile, North Harrison would break the tie in the second when Trendi Johnson doubled in a run to score Ruby Heintz to make it 2-1. But for the third and fourth innings, North Harrison would hit some balls hard, but right at the red shirts.
Finally, in the fifth, Jayliegh Robins walked and stole second, and Carly Rinehart stretched a single into a double as Robins scored to make it 3-1. Amber Wilson (running for Rinehart) took third on a wild pitch and Emma Craig hit a grounder. Mercer tried to pick off Wilson at third, but she scrambled back to the bag safely, and everyone was safe. Emma Craig stole second on the first and third situation, Mercer tried to throw down, and nobody was covering the bag as Wilson scored and Craig moved to third to make it 4-1. North Harrison could have gotten more, but Camden Castleberry hit a screamer speared by the center fielder in right center, who doubled Craig off third. Coach Brandon Craig took the blame for the play, saying he thought there were two outs. “Pick me up,” he told his girls as they went back onto the field.
Back to back Mercer singles in the sixth brought the tying run to the plate, but Carly Rinehart struck out Katie Hill with the high heat, and freshman shortstop Ruby Heinz, who was lights out in the field, threw to third on a grounder for a force. It all looked to be in vain when the next batter hit a screamer into the gap in right center that would have scored two, or even three. But Rainey Fordyce came on the dead run and speared it for the third out to preserve North Harrison’s lead. She got back the chance she felt she should have had in the second.
One move by Coach Craig paid off in the bottom of the inning; he had little-used Kaitlyn Briggs batting in the starting lineup that game. Sometimes, coaches have a 6th sense about which players will perform, and that was the case. With two outs and nobody on, Briggs crushed one that sliced down the right field line and away from everybody, and she dove in safe under the tag for a double. She took third on a wild pitch, and Trendi Johnson singled her home to make it 5-1.
Mercer was not done, as they threatened to follow Worth County’s lead as they got a double and a single to put runners on first and third with nobody out. But all of a sudden, North Harrison made a bang-bang double play as Emma Shipley hit a grounder to pitcher Carly Rinehart, who threw to Jayliegh Robins at first for the first out. Robins promptly snapped off a throw to catcher Emma Craig to retire the Mercer runner trying to score, and all of a sudden, there were two outs, and both had atoned for earlier mistakes.
Summer Martin came up, and hit one hard, but right at shortstop Ruby Heinz, who capped off a strong defensive outing by catching it for the final out.
Mistakes, even embarrassing ones, are part of the game. But the successful teams, like North Harrison’s softball team, are the ones that overcome them and still find ways to win.
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