CHARLOTTESVILLE — Eastern Hancock softball coach Terry Stephens thought it was gone.
It very nearly was.
Trailing Wapahani 5-1 and with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Paige Wickard stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and a chance at a conference title on the line. She hammered a pitch deep to center field that off the bat looked every bit like a game-tying grand slam.
“I thought it was out. I thought it was going to carry enough to get over,” Stephens said. “I thought we were going to do it. We’re three feet away from having a tie ball game. Three feet higher and it’s over.”
Wickard’s hit smacked off the wall, scoring three runs and putting her on first base. A groundout ended the comeback attempt one run short, as Wapahani handed Eastern Hancock its first conference loss of the season, 5-4, on Friday.
In just their second season in the Mid-Eastern Conference, the Royals came into Friday’s game just one win away from clinching at least a share of the conference title.
The offense struggled for six of the seven innings, never seeming to find the big hit until Wickard’s. That was a carryover from a tough Thursday outing, a 4-0 loss to Anderson that saw the Royals manage just one base hit.
Through four innings on Friday, the hosts had just two hits. They were making solid contact but repeatedly flew out or lined out directly to fielders.
“The solid ones we hit were right to them. The other ones were dinkers that they could field pretty easily,” Stephens said. “It’s frustrating because we want to score, we want to get our hits. Our defense for the most part did its part. But they hit the ball. They hit the ball hard and they found the gaps. That was the big difference in the ballgame.”
Eastern Hancock finished with seven hits, five coming with two outs on the scoreboard. The Raiders finished with 10 hits.
Megan Bever, Bailey Stephens and Wickard each had two hits for the Royals. Maddie Turner also singled.
The Royals had their chances throughout the game. They loaded the bases in the third inning with back-to-back two-out singles from Bever and Stephens, followed by a walk to Caroline Stapleton. The first pitch to Wickard went past the Raiders catcher, allowing Bever to score the opening run of the game.
Almost as soon as the Royals took the lead, the Raiders tied things up again with a pair of doubles. An inning later they grabbed the lead for good. Three singles and a throwing error pushed the lead to 3-1. A double and two singles in the sixth inning pushed the lead to four.
The Royals tried to close the gap in the bottom of the sixth, getting two runners on with no outs. Three straight groundouts ended that frame without a run.
Elise Bittinger went four innings in the circle, allowing five hits and two runs while striking out three. Maddie Turner took over with a runner on and no outs in the fifth, giving up five hits and three runs while striking out three.
The loss, their second in a row, moves the Royals’ record to 12-5-1 and 6-1 in the MEC. They will have their final opportunity to claim a share of the conference crown on Tuesday against Cowan.
Before then, two games at today’s Blackford Invite, and a Monday game against Hagerstown, will give the Royals time to regroup and refocus.
“It’s a good chance to work on the stuff that we need to work on, for example our hits,” Stephens said. “This one’s a tough one. We knew they were going to be a good. We just couldn’t put the bats in at the right time.
“As far as Cowan, we’re just going to assume that they’re going to come in and do the same thing as this, and we’re going to be ready for it.”
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Wapahani 5, Eastern Hancock 4
W (8-10, 4-3);000;122;0;—;5;10;0
EH (12-5-1, 6-1);001;000;3;—;4;7;1
2B: Emma Schuck, Ashland Kahalekomo, Mallory Summers (W). RBI: Paige Wickard 3 (EH); Kahalekomo, Charissa Clairday, Katie Bray, Dayten Lee, Lala Lee (W).
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