Blue Devils shake off nerves, earn spot in state final
Danville softball squad rallies from early deficit, beats Dalton, 11-4
The Danville softball team is all smiles after punching its ticket to the Division VI state softball championship game with an 11-4 victory over Dalton on Wednesday. The Blue Devils will take on West Jefferson in the title game Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Akron's Firestone Stadium.
Fred Main
With five freshmen in the starting lineup and no state-tournament experience, it was understandable that Danville was nervous Wednesday.
But the mark of a quality team is how they respond to nerves and some adversity. On that note, the Blue Devils are just fine.
After giving up two runs in the first inning of their Division VI state semifinal at Akron, the Devils settled in with one of their calling cards – big hits – and went on to beat Dalton, 11-4, and advance to Thursday’s state softball championship game. Danville will face West Jefferson at Akron’s Firestone Stadium at 5:30 p.m. for a shot at the top prize.
“(This was a) hard-fought game. Their pitcher (Dalton’s Mei Simmons) has been solid all year. We made some adjustments throughout the game,” said Danville coach Charlie Duncan. “Then when Ruby hit that big bomb, that really set the dugout going. I’m proud how everyone stepped up. It’s something we’ve been working for. Every time we step on the field, they accept the challenge. I’m proud of them.”
Dalton came out smoking offensively and were helped by the nerves of the Danville defense. An error and some miscommunication in the field led to two Bulldog runs in the first inning. It could have been more, but Danville pitcher Addy Bocock was able to get two strike outs to end the threat.
“I think so (nerves got to them). We have five starting freshmen out there and rely on a couple as courtesy runners. This is a big stage for them,” Duncan said. “I know a couple of those fly ball dropped, but they settled in. These girls had their backs, talked to them and said, 'relax, you’re fine.'”
“(We were) definitely (nervous) in the first inning, with them getting two runs right off the bat,” said senior pitcher Addy Bocock. “A lot of us were nervous, but then coming in and scoring a run helped a lot.”
Danville got one back in the second on an RBI single by freshman Dalayna Parker. Kaylee Martin had singled to open the inning, then moved to second on a walk to Ruby Bartok and scored on Parker’s single.
The Devils (24-5) were able to shut down Dalton the next two innings before Bartok unleashed the floodgates in the bottom of the third inning.
The senior first baseman smacked a long solo shot to center field, waking up the Danville squad and its fans.
“It was amazing seeing everybody come out of that dugout. That just meant everything,” Bartok said. “Getting everybody up in that following inning, we definitely hit a lot better. It felt really good to get everybody up again.”
The Devils followed Bartok’s blast with four consecutive singles and added two more runs.
“We just kind of worked together. We made a game plan in the dugout and came out ready to hit,” said Liz John, who had one of those singles.
Even after Dalton's Hannah Wenger hit an inside-the-park home run to tie the game at 4, Danville's momentum never wavered.
Danville bounced back with four runs in the bottom of the fourth and put things on ice with another three in the sixth to vault its way to the state finals.
Parker led the Devils with three singles and three RBI. Bartok added the solo blast, while Morgan Hinkens and Riley Johnston had a double and single apiece. John had two singles and drove in a run, and Martin and Taylor Meade both singled.
After a bit of a rough start, Addy Bocock settled down on the mound, thanks in part to some good defensive plays from Parker and Meade. She allowed nine hits on the day, but struck out 12 Dalton batters.
“Just the fact that our team was making a lot of plays (made it easier),” Bocock said. “We had a lot of plays that were really good. We had the one that Dalayna had to run back and barely caught. We had one where Taylor had to take a great angle at it and she threw her out and saved some runs. My defense making really good plays behind me really helped my confidence.”
The Devils will face another central district foe in West Jefferson for the title Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Firestone Stadium. The Rough Riders beat Lincolnview, 8-0, in the first semifinal game Wednesday.
