Girls give up 6 runs in first inning, storm back to win 13-8
OCEAN CITY – The Red Raider softball team pulled off a stunner Wednesday, May 4, giving up six runs in the top of the first only to rally and defeat Absegami 13-8.
“Oh my gosh, these kids like to give me a heart attack,” said head coach Carrie Merritt. “We had a really tough loss on Monday (May 2). We were winning for much of the game, fighting for much of the game, and fell apart in the last inning. So yesterday in practice we really had a refocusing day.
“We’re new. I’m new, we have four freshmen starting, there’s a lot going on. So today I was a little nervous coming out after that crushing blow in the seventh inning,” she said. “When they scored those six runs, I thought, ‘This is not good, this is not good.’ But I have to say my favorite quality of this team is even though we’ve lost a lot of games they continue to fight. They continue to stay motivated, they stay positive, and they proved that today. To me that’s even cooler than having all wins on our record. They never give up. After they scored some runs I eased back, and they showed who they are today.”
The Raiders fell behind big in the first inning as a result of shaky defense and walks.
Hesitation in the field allowed runners to advance and pitcher Lauren Tate struggled to find the strike zone.
Absegami (4-11) had six runs without hitting any balls very hard.
“The best thing is to stay positive and get everyone in a good mood to do their best,” Annabelle Shumski said, “just to get everyone in a hype mood. We usually play better when we’re in a better mood. Getting people smiling is the best way to do it.”
Ocean City was forced to make a pitching change in the very early going, turning to senior Kailey Grimley to get out of the jam.
“I was not expecting that,” Grimley said. “I was expecting to go in around the third inning. But I felt good, I felt excited, and I had faith in my team that we would be able to get back in it. So I was happy to be able to hold them.”
The Raiders got two of the runs right back in the bottom of the first to pull within four with RBIs from Cristina Barbella and Brooke Groover-Illas.
“The first inning was definitely rough,” Shumski said. “Our coached yelled at us a little, but I think it definitely knocked some sense into us. It got our hope back, got us in a good mood and got us going. She helped us out a lot.”
Grimley made quick work of the Braves in the second inning.
“I just had a fire in me,” Grimley said, “and I tried to stay mad and hit my spots, just tunnel vision, tried to shut down every inning as soon as possible.”
The second inning was where the Raiders rallied.
Anna McCabe worked a lead-off walk then swiped second, narrowly avoiding the tag.
Shumski then dug in and battled in the box, fouling off a series of pitches before launching a towering two-run home run to dead center to make it 6-4.
“For Annabelle, that was really cool to see,” Merritt said. “As a freshman, I think she was in pure shock to see it went over the fence. She ran around the bases with her hand over her mouth. That definitely ignited ‘the nest,’ as we call it. Our kids came alive after that and everybody started hitting. I told them there were some special individual performances today but it truly was a team event.”
“I did not know (it was gone),” Shumski said. “I got to first and thought it was just a high fly right into the center fielder’s glove. I was not expecting it to go over. My jaw completely dropped, it was out of this world. I was really happy.”
From there the floodgates opened.
MacKenzie Segich followed with a bizarre run-scoring play – she attempted to bunt for a hit, the throw got away from the first baseman and Segich circled the bases before the Braves could recover.
“It started in that second inning,” Shumski said. “I was able to hit a home run and after it just went. Every ball was in the outfield and it was really good. Honestly it was one of our best days hitting.”
Taylor Vaugh then tripled and was doubled in by Barbella, who was doubled home by Groover-Illas as the hitting became contagious.
Gabby Bowen made it 8-6 Raiders with the final RBI of the frame.
“The main thing was just energy, energy, energy,” Grimley said. “Just cheering on our teammates always seems to make a difference. Our dugout is always just trying to be as positive as possible, no matter how far behind we are. I think that’s how we made it back in the game, by being so positive and energized.”
Grimley went back to work and dominated, shutting down Absegami in the third and fourth innings.
“Kailey was so good,” Shumski said. “If she wasn’t as accurate as she was, we wouldn’t have been able to do that. She did really well.”
Grimley was aided by much cleaner Raider defense the rest of the game.
“That was exciting,” Grimley said. “Line drives were being caught, just so many amazing plays. That made me happy.”
The Raiders tacked on another run in the fourth as Groover-Illas singled home a run.
Absegami answered with one in the fifth but Ocean City responded with four more for a 13-7 advantage.
Grimley yielded an unearned run in the seventh to close out the wild win.
“Seeing our team make great plays or hit home runs, good base-running, hits to the outfield, it just helps boost the energy even more,” Grimley said. “It helped us get back from being down by six in the beginning. That was great.”
Grimley went 6 1/3 innings of relief on the day with just two unearned runs.
“Our bookkeeper just told me she threw about 60 pitches in all today,” Merritt said. “So that’s really impressive. Coming off the bench in a tough situation – you’re down, there’s runners on – she really got us out of trouble. That’s been the cool thing about our pitching staff in general. We’ve been using the platoon pitching approach, getting innings where we can, and they’ve really stepped up for each other. They support each other. They know they might be coming into an ugly situation, but they can get us out of it. Pitching isn’t easy as it is, so to come in in those type of situations – man, it’s really something special.”
The Raiders hope to build on the incredible victory amid what has been a tough season.
“Our record isn’t so clean, but I think what makes us a good team is our energy,” Grimley said. “We’re always able to build ourselves up. A lot of our losses are by one run and I think that says a lot about our ability to fight and stay positive. We’re just going to keep working as a team and try to bring our record back.”
“We try our best,” Shumski said. “Our past games haven’t been great but I’m pretty sure this is one of our best. This felt good.”
Ocean City is looking to build a culture and a game like that one shows it is working, regardless of record.
“This season for me is about learning about the program, learning about the community, the culture and building that,” Merritt said. “This is kind of the early foundation. We have a couple great senior leaders between Cristina (Barbella) and Brooke (Groover-Illas) behind the plate. I’m thankful for them because even though they’re seniors, they’re positive with the younger kids. They’re just great role models of what this program can be. Then the younger kids are stepping up and showing a little personality. That’s what I want – I don’t want clones, I want everyone to have their own identity and their own approach to the game, have a little flare. That was alive today.”
If nothing else, it is certainly a step in the right direction.
“I hope this was a push in the right direction,” Merritt said. “We’ve been so close in so many of the games. We had a one-run loss over weekend, then we fell apart a little bit. I really hope this gives them the confidence to start believing. I keep telling them they’re better than what they think, and better than what other people think. I hope a comeback after that first inning shows them they’re never out of it. We can hit, we can field, we can support our pitching. So I hope today helps us get over that hurdle.”
The girls beat Holy Spirit 9-2 on Monday.
The Raiders (4-10) will hit the road Thursday, May 12 to face Egg Harbor Township at 4 p.m.
By KYLE McCRANE/Sentinel Sports