Rome – The first two softball meetings this season between backyard rivals West Canada Valley and Poland went the way of the Lady Tornadoes, by scores of 13-5 and 7-2. In fact those two blemishes were the only division losses West Canada had sustained this season, finishing second behind Poland. Both losses were also at the hand of sophomore phenom pitcher Jamie Weakley.
Today at Kost Field in Rome, the two teams met for the third time this season. This time, a trip to the Class “D” Section 3 Championship was at stake for Poland, who came into today with a record of (18-1) and ranked 4th in New York State and West Canada (17-5), who was 10th in the latest poll.
Jamie Weakley finished the day with 16 strikeouts in the circle for Poland. Photo By – Jeff Pexton – Perfect Game Imaging)
The Tornadoes appeared to pick up right where they left off the last two games, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Jamie Weakley struck out the first 3 Lady Indians in the top of the first, then ripped a double to center field in the bottom of the second, scoring Mikayla Blumenstock and Jordan Batson to give the #1 seed a quick lead.
Weakley was as strong as ever in the circle, striking out the first 8 batters she faced and did not allow a hit until the bottom of the third inning. That’s when Taylor Zaino singled home Kirsten Nicholson to pull the Lady Indians to within 2-1.
From that point forward, it was a pitcher’s duel extraordinaire, as WCV’s Jordyn Conte, a freshman, and Weakley, a sophomore, kept the offenses relatively quiet on both sides.
The top of the 4th inning was the most pivotal of the day, and probably the season for both clubs. After Weakley struck out the leadoff batter (her 10th k of the day to that point) to start the inning, Bryann Brelinsky reached on an infield error and alertly went to second on an overthrow. Kirsten Nicholson then singled and Taylor Zaino reached first on a bunt that froze the Tornadoes defense. With the bases loaded, two outs and down in the count 1 and 2, Erika Wellington hit a ball to shallow right field, which went in and out of the glove of the Poland second baseman, before hitting the ground. Both Brelinskey and Nicholson scored on the play, putting the purple team up by a score of 3-2.
Freshman phenom Jordyn Conte strides toward home late in the ball game. Photo By – Jeff Pexton – Perfect Game Imaging
Jordyn Conte was a rock in the circle after that, allowing just two hits in the next 3 innings. The West Canada defense was outstanding behind her and WCV held on to take this one by a score of 3-2, to advance to the Section 3, Class D Finals.
After the game, head coach Ron Lindsay praised his team for the defensive effort and not getting down after trailing early. “It’s about 6 am practices on Saturdays, it’s about never giving up, it’s trying to score at least a run every inning, all the little things” Lindsay explained, adding “Jordyn never got down, our defense was outstanding and we came together when we needed to, I’m very proud of these kids”.
For Taylor Zaino, a junior shortstop, this win was pretty sweet. “I am really happy for all of us, we worked really hard all season and even though they beat us twice we knew we could play with them and today we did”.
Jordyn Conte gave all the credit to her defense for today’s win. “They played great behind me out there, I am always confident that they’ll make plays and today they did it over and over again, this is awesome”.
Conte allowed 2 runs, on just five hits, striking out four and walking one to earn the win. With the win, Poland improves to (18-5) on the season.
Poland’s Jamie Weakley finished the day with 16 strikeouts, allowing 3 runs, but just 1 earned. Poland ends its season at (18-2).
West Canada Valley will now meet LaFargeville, a 6-5 winner over Stockbridge Valley, for the Section III, Class D Championship, on Wednesday at Cicero.
