By Jeremy McDonald
MEDFORD, Ore.– West Salem’s Lucy DuVal entered Tuesday afternoon’s North Medford Tournament finale against McMinnville with chaos slowly starting to go around her.
The Grizzlies just picked up some momentum with base-runners in the top half of the seventh inning and quickly tied up the game at three with no-outs on the board. But the junior in DuVal settled in a bit back-to-back strikeouts for the first two outs of the inning. McMinnville worked to load the bases to really put the pressure on DuVal to stop them.
She and her defense did as DuVal forced a pop-out to close out the inning with the game still tied up at three.
“I just had to trust my defense and know that they got my back. My offense, I knew that they’ll come back and help me,” said DuVal. “Trust my team and have them support me.”
The Titans got a two-out double by Aubrey Peil and an intentional walk by Mya Ward, but McMinnville was too clutched up to force extra’s . DuVal, who had split time with Martin in the pitching circle Tuesday against North Medford and the Grizzlies, once again came through and kept McMinnville off the board despite a runner on second and first
It felt like a playoff game. And it was something that West Salem Ty Nicholson wanted for his squad.
“Those are like playoff-type games, and that’s what makes you better. You don’t get better at beating teams badly. You get better playing teams like McMinnville. Us making switches, putting Lucy in to pitch, subbing her in for Braeli (Martin) in that moment, she stepped up and her stepping up to get that hit…that’s playoff softball, That’s why we choose to play the better teams so that we can get better, so they can push us,” said Head Coach Ty Nicholson.
Going to the bottom of the eighth inning, Martin was out on second to start. In extra inning softball, last out goes to second base as part of the ‘International Tiebreaker’ to try to help decide a winner.
DuVal, who bats after Martin, was due up to lead-off for the Titans in the bottom half of the eighth inning. And her and Mackenzie Roberts went to work and battled for nine long pitches before DuVal sent a blooper to shallow right field, allowing Martin just enough time to reach home before the ball could get to her first.
“I was trying to stay focused through that at-bat,” DuVal said of that at-bat.
West Salem will head to play South Albany on April 1.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
