Last summer, in their first game, North Harrison played lights-out ball in a 17-2 win over Putnam County. Hali Smith threw a no-hitter, there was hitting up and down the lineup, and the defense was lights-out against a squad that previously had their number even when they were down. Ever since then, everyone wondered where that team was; the Shamrocks were lit up in the rest of their summer season and for much of the fall season. The Shamrocks would normally jump on their opponents, even good teams, and score runs in the first inning. But then they would fade and get lit up the rest of the way. They were a team that could not catch a break as there are no weak teams in the schedule.
But all that began to change Saturday for the Shamrocks in their second game of the afternoon of the North Harrison Tournament. Somehow, they dug deep when they had to and found another level as they held off charge after charge from the Chillicothe JV Hornets and got their first win of the year 14-10.
The energy level of the team was as good as it had been all year despite the team taking a 14-1 drubbing from Worth County, but the game looked like it was going according to script. Three straight hits from Lani Briggs, Jaxcynn Hansel, and Ava Rinehart led to a run, and Carmon Fordyce was plunked to load the bases. Hali Smith singled to right and Kayka Wilson grounded out to score two more to put North Harrison up 3-0.
It didn’t seem to matter as enemy teams had been there before and had run ruled the Shamrocks, and sure enough, with one out, Bryleigh Gillespie singled and Jaiden Rodenberg walked to start the Hornet first. Hayden Hansen hit what looked like a routine grounder to Gracie Young at third with runners at first and second. But all of a sudden, the Shamrocks caught a break as Young, only a freshman, stepped on third and threw to first for a double play and all of a sudden, it looked like the tide might be starting to turn.
North Harrison added to its lead in the second when Addison Milligan singled. Lani Briggs grounded out to advance her, she took third on a wild pitch, and Jaxcynn Hansel grounded out to bring her home to make it 4-0. Ava Rinehart singled to center, stole second and third, and scored when a pop fly was dropped to make it 5-0. That marked only the second time all year the Shamrocks had scored more than four runs in a game.
But North Harrison had been there before, up 9-0 to Gilman City, only for the Hawks to storm back and win 18-12. Sure enough, Molly Kennebeck walked and Kylee Link got a scratch hit out of everyone’s reach for the Hornets to start the second. Brynley Beemer hit a grounder to Young, and she tried to replicate her double play of the second, but Chillicothe put its speed to good use and Kennebeck was safe at third, and for the moment, all the energy was sucked out of the team and the dugout was dead.
The next batter popped out, which meant that instead of two outs and minimal damage or three outs and another zero, the inning continued for the Hornets. Two walks forced in two runs to make it 5-2, and then Gillespie’s double cut it to 5-4. Rodenberg’s sac fly tied it up at 5, and then Hayden Hansen’s single put the Hornets in front 6-5.
But then the Shamrocks realized that they were hitting the ball well, getting out in front, and cutting the ball in half, and that it was not over by a long shot. They dug deep and regained the lead as Kayka Wilson walked, took second on a wild pitch, and third on Gracie Young’s single. Addison Milligan hit a pop fly single that looked like it might be caught, but it dropped in and scored Wilson to tie it at 6 and put Young on third. Milligan took second on the throw to third. Lani Briggs grounded out to score Young to put the Shamrocks back in front 7-6.
The Hornets battled back in the third as consecutive hits by Kylee Link and Brynley Beemer scored the tying run. Beemer took second on a wild pitch, third on Dawson Baxter’s groundout, and scored on Rylee Davis’ single to put themselves back up 8-7.
But then Carmon Fordyce walked and stole second, starting off a stretch where the Shamrocks ran rings around the Hornets in the same way that the Hornets ran rings around Worth County earlier. Fordyce took third on a wild pitch and scored on Hali Smith’s single. Kayka Wilson walked and then Gracie Young singled, scoring Smith and putting Wilson on third. Annabelle Owens walked, as did Addison Milligan, forcing in a run to make it 9-8.
Lani Briggs flied out and Jaxcynn Hansel struck out, but then Gracie Young scored on a wild pitch to open the floodgates. Ava Rinehart walked and Carmon Fordyce got her second hit of the inning to score two and put Rinehart on third. Carmon stole second and then Hali Smith beat out a scratch hit as Rinehart scored to make it 14-8.
With time called after four innings, the Shamrocks still had to brace themselves as slumps have a way of dying hard. Sure enough, shortstop Lani Briggs tried for a shoestring catch on Adi Kanniainen’s short pop fly, missed, and threw it away to place Kanniainen on second. That meant that the Hornets were still in it after the next two batters struck out and the lineup turned over to the heart of their order again. Link singled, Beemer walked, and Baxter singled to make it 14-10 and place runners on second and third after an unsuccessful throw to third. But Briggs atoned for her earlier error by catching a pop fly for the third and final out.
The taste of victory was so sweet that the Shamrocks came back for seconds, beating East Harrison 11-4; the Bobcats came in with a record of 7-3. It was the fewest runs the Shamrocks had held an opponent all year, and only the second time they held someone under 10 runs.
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