By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
AMITY, Ore.– It took until the third inning for the Elmira/Mapleton Falcons to find their groove against Amity in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs.
It started with an error when lead-off hitter Lily Admire put the ball in play. The junior was driven home the next at-bat by Emily Weston and from there Elmira/Mapleton just built upon that slight momentum going into the bottom half of the third, taking a 5-0 lead on the Warriors by the time they went out to play defense on Monday afternoon.
“It was about making the strike zone work for you. It’s being ready for the right pitch and making the strike zone come to you and being patient for the right pitch for you. Once they took control of that was when their bats came alive, you’re on top of your zone and that’s when ot started to crank open for them,” said Elmira/Mapleton Head acoach Rindy Spicer.
Amity mellowed out the bats of the Falcons over the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, holding Elmira/Mapleton to one run as their offense plated two to bring the Warriors back to within reach down 6-2 going into the seventh inning.
“Our team motto for the year has been ‘All gas, No Breaks,’ and we came out here and gave it our all today. I think the girls tried to stay focused and really tried to bring it. We just didn’t have it today,” said Amity Head Coach Jennifer Kendall.
But the Falcons bats proved too much for Amity to overcome. With seven hits, another two that forced errors and two walks on the top half of the seventh, the Falcons went on to score eight runs en route to a 14-2 victory. The win sends Elmira/Mapleton to the second round down in Scio.
“The biggest thing is to trust our defense. Knowing if we hit our spots and we do what we need to do. They’re a hitting team, it’s not going to be like today, the ball is going to be in plag and we’re going to have to be ready for that and anticipate,” said Spicer. “And with our bats, come out charging. It’s going to be a different pitching game, and we have to be ready for it.”
Jezianne Carroll drove in three runs with three hits to lead the Falcons on Monday. Audrey Varozza struck out nine batters and held Amity to six hits in the game.
“She pitched phenomenal. Her change really came to life, and it worked for her. Her mental game, she owned it, she was in command. It’s really fun to watch her pounding the zone out there.”
Amity, who came into the season with questions of how this season might have gone, closes out the season 12-13 with a playoff appearance. Marti Silacci led the Warriors with two hits, and Emma Shilhanek struck out six batters for Amity.
“It’s great. I’m so proud of this team. We came into the season not knowing what we were going to have . We were questionable with pitching, but Emma Shilhanek and Bella Reeser they brought it, and Kyla (Jones) behind the plate was just great, just phenomenal,” said Kendall.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
