Jayden Goble Carries Pattonsburg to Consolation Title

     Jayden Goble carried the Pattonsburg team on her shoulders throughout the sweltering afternoon and fittingly enough, scored the game-winning run in the consolation game to secure hardware for the Panthers Saturday at the Albany Tournament. Addie Iddings, normally one of the favorite targets of Coach Bill Pottorff’s wrath, got some praise from him for a change. “Addie, I’m proud of you,” he said after the game. Iddings kept the team in all three of their games with her pitching, rarely walking batters and always throwing strikes regardless of how badly her fielders were struggling behind her. She pitched all three games in sweltering 90+ degree heat and held up until the end.

Goble got seven hits for the afternoon and swiped five bases. Kaitlyn Estes was right behind her, getting a home run on the small field and nearly getting one on the big field in the consolation game and taking out a car parked behind the fence in the process. Isabella Burger added a home run, and Rosalynn Cameron, related to Royals pitcher Noah Cameron, was a steady hitting presence.

Stanberry was forecast to be a contender in the GRC West this year, but Pattonsburg jumped on them early with Isabella Burger’s home run as the wind carried it out of reach and over the fence to make it 1-0. With one out in the second, Emsleigh McCrary was plunked. Carlie Pittsenbarger got a sacrifice bunt to move McCrary to second. Cheyanne Miller singled her home to make it 2-0.

But as the day got hotter, the errors began to mount, with Pattonsburg making nine on the day and somehow still had a chance to win at the end. Brooke Robinson reached second on an error and Jaicee McGinley advanced her to third. Ellie Dias grounded out to put Stanberry on the board.

Pattonsburg responded in the third with Estes hitting a carbon copy of Burger’s drive to make it 3-1.

But then the errors began to mount and Stanberry started coming back, using two Panther errors to cut their deficit to 3-2. Brooke Robinson singled in Harper Heyde to tie it up, an error let in a run to put Stanberry up 4-3, and McGinley hit a pop fly single over second baseman Emsleigh McCrary’s head to make it 5-3.

Jayden Goble, who had been out on her first two at-bats, got better as the day got hotter, starting with a double to left to tie the game at 5, with Carlie Pittsenbarger and Cheyenne Miller scoring. But Stanberry struck again with two outs as Harper Heyde tripled to left as Kynzee Adcock and Tasha Stoll scored to make it 7-5. Heyde came home on a passed ball to make it 8-5. At that point, all eight of Stanberry’s runs had come with two outs.

The eighth run came on a controversial call as Jayden Goble clearly tagged Heyde making an ill-advised dash to the plate on a play that everybody saw but the umpire.

The lower part of Pattonsburg’s order came through to give them a chance. Rosalynn Cameron caught hold of a pitch well outside of the strike zone and singled to left and Vanessa Weigand doubled her over to third. Emsleigh McCrary hit a seeing-eye single to right to score Cameron to make it 8-6 as Weigand went first to third. McCrary stole second and as the shortstop cut off the throw, Weigand took off for home and was safe as McCrary took third on the play. That made it 8-7. Cheyenne Miller’s pop fly short-hopped the center fielder as McCrary scored to make it 8-8. Addie Iddings grounded out to score Miller to put Pattonsburg up 9-8.

But Pattonsburg made two more errors in the final inning, and that proved to be too much. Left fielder Carly Pittsenbarger made a great play to cut down a runner at third, but Josi Moffat grounded out to score Jaicee McGinley to tie it and Olivia McQuinn singled home Ellie Dias to walk it off for Stanberry 10-9.

Against North Harrison, Jayden Goble singled to start the game and swiped second. The ball got away, and Goble circled the bases to put Pattonsburg up 1-0. Addie Iddings narrowly missed a home run and doubled to right. Shamrock catcher Ava Rinehart picked her off and got her in a rundown. There was a massive collision between Iddings and Shamrock second baseman Shayla Vandiver, who held on to the tag for the out. Kaitlyn Estes doubled into the left field corner and Rosalynn Cameron got a bad-hop single to score her and make it 2-0.

Lani Briggs reached on an error and Addison Milligan doubled to right, putting Briggs on third. Jaxcynn Hansel singled to center to score them and tie it at 2-2 after one.

The score was stuck there until the fourth inning, when a pair of Shamrock errors scored Carly Pittsenbarger to make it 3-2. Jayden Goble flied out to score Cheyenne Miller to make it 4-2. Addie Iddings walked and Gracelyn Youtsey (running for Iddings) took second on a wild pitch. Isabella Burger singled her over to third and advanced to second on defensive indifference. Kaitlyn Estes walked. Rosalynn Cameron beat out an infield hit to score Youtsey to make it 5-2. Vanessa Weigand reached on an error to score Burger to make it 6-2.

In the Shamrock fourth, Kathryn Parkhurst walked. Shayla Vandiver struck out and Becca Welling forced Parkhurst at second. Singles by Lani Briggs and Addison Milligan plated Welling to cut it to 6-3.

Carlie Pittsenbarger singled to right to start the Panther fifth, and the ball got away to put her on second. Cheyanne Miller put down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move her to third. Jayden Goble beat out an infield hit as Pittsenbarger scored to make it 7-3. Goble stole second, and the ball got away to put her on third. Addie Iddings grounded out to score her and make it 8-3. Isabella Burger beat out an infield hit. Singles by Kaitlyn Estes and Roslynn Cameron scored her to make it 9-3.

North Harrison fought back after Hali Smith beat out an infield single. Jaxcynn Hansel grounded to second; Pattonsburg tried to go for the force, but Smith beat it out. Raegan Hogan singled to load the bases. Kathryn Parkhurst grounded out to score Smith. Shayla Vandiver flied out to score Hansel to make it 9-5. But Becca Welling flied out, and time was called to advance Pattonsburg to the consolation finals.

Against North Andrew, Pattonsburg struck first as Jayden Goble singled to left. She stole second and third, carrying the team on her shoulders even more as it got hotter and hotter. Kaitlyn Estes doubled her home to make it 1-0.

North Andrew answered in the third when Olivia Diggs singled. Presleigh Ford singled to center; they tried to cut down Diggs going first to third, but she was safe as Ford took second. Diggs scored on a passed ball as Ford took third. Delaney Sybert grounded out as Presleigh Ford scored to put North Andrew in front 2-1.

In the Panther third, Isabella Burger walked with one out. Emsleigh McCrary (running for Burger) took second on a passed ball. Kaitlyn Estes doubled her home to tie it at 2-2. Rosalynn Cameron bunted and reached on an error as Estes scored to put Pattonsburg up 3-2.

In the Cardinal fourth, Panther left fielder Carlie Pittsenbarger made her second outstanding defensive play when she forced out a runner at second base to kill a rally.

Delaney Sybert, Hadley Anderson, and Hayden Manley all singled to tie it at 3-3. Zoey Redmond singled to left and the ball got away as Hayden Manley and Hadley Anderson scored to put North Andrew up 5-3.

Kaitlyn Estes got her third double of the day with one out in the Pattonsburg fifth. She took third on a passed ball. Rosalynn Cameron walked and took second on defensive indifference. Vanessa Weigand doubled to tie the game up at 5-5.

Time had expired, so the International Tiebreaker rule was in effect, meaning that each team starts the inning with a runner on second. In North Andrew’s half of the sixth, Olivia Diggs got a sacrifice bunt to move the ghost runner, Aurora Miller, to third. Bradyn Wilson grounded out to score Miller and put North Andrew in front 6-5.

Emsleigh McCrary advanced to third on a passed ball in Pattonsburg’s half. Cheyanne Miller grounded out, but McCrary held up and no run scored. Jayden Goble singled to left; there was a heartstopping moment as she slipped and fell rounding first, but she got back safely as Emsleigh McCrary scored to make it 6-6. Goble stole second and the ball got away, putting her on third. Addie Iddings was hit by a pitch. Isabella Burger flied out to score Goble to win the game 7-6.