Emma Leath has been conducting business from inside Coach Rick Nester’s pitching circle 🔵 for just shy of four full seasons now. Thursday night the Senior managed to strike out 11 Knights along the way to a complete game 3-2 victory. The victory clinched the regular season Three Rivers District Championship for a very young and overcheaving team that now sits at 16-3 heading into the regular season finale against Radford tomorrow night 🌙.
Two of Leaths 11 K’s had significant meaning to the Cavalier faithful. The fourth one of the night put her career number at 695, breaking the record previously held by CCHS alum Sydney Nester.
While its not high quality capture because of the fence, it is the record breaking KO.
#700, on her way to 702. The victory is #60, the other CCHS record that Leath wrestled away from Nester a few weeks back against Alleghany.
Leath now holds the two most significant pitching records in the history of Lady 👩 Cavalier softball and will continue to add to those numbers over the coming days.
Addie Greene is our Freshman Short Stop and in line to be the next Carroll County pitching ace. Greene took her game to another level Thursday night and actually took me back to the at bat in the 1980″s where Kirk Gibson hobbled to the plate and crushed a Home Run to win Game 1 of the World Series.
Greene sacrificed her body through out the contest as the team looked to avenge a tough loss earlier this year up in Buchanan. In the top of the sixth inning Greene made consecutive plays to record 6-3 put outs but a diving attempt on the next one led to a pair of things, an infield single and a banged up Greene.
With a runner on base, Wagner University signee Ripley Barry caught up with the only mistake Leath made, depositing it just over the left field fence to tie the game at 2-2 in the sixth inning.
Carroll County didn’t flinch and plated the game winning run without the ball leaving the infield. Freshman Laynie-Jo Leonard led off by earning a base on balls after falling behind early in the count. Holly Miller followed with a perfect bunt that the speedster came within an eyelash of beating it out but it put Leonard in scoring position with just one out.
Leath sent a ball to the hole 🕳 that the short stop fielded and retired her 6-3 but now Leonard is standing on third base. Two outs and the District winning run 🏃♂️ is standing on third base with Greene coming to the plate.
How tough is this young Lady became obvious when Greene sent a shot in the direction of the same hole that Leath found. When it came time for Greene to try and beat out the throw to first base it quickly became obvious that she was operating on a gimpy ankle.
The term for winning a game in your last at bat is normally called a Walk Off but in this case it might be more fitting to call it a Limp Off. Greene had enough left in the tank to force a rushed throw that didn’t reach its target.
I’m not sure if anyone snapped a photo of Assistant Coach Jeff Tobler holding Greene upright while standing on first base after Leonard touched home plate.
Older readers might remember Willis Reed of the Knicks, some more can hear the famous Jack Buck call on the Gibson Home Run – “I don’t believe what I just saw.”
Greene is tough, and now we have an idea 💡 of just how tough. Here’s hoping 🙏 that her ankle sprain won’t keep her on the sidelines for too long.
If someone out there has that photo 📷 please let me know…
A.S.P.N on The Hill 