RANDY HISNER
WZBD.com
It was Senior Day at Whitko, and three seniors decided to celebrate it in a big way—with home runs against the Heritage Patriots.
Addie Garr, Kaylee Adkins, and pitcher Cassady Skinner all went deep in the first three innings to help the Wildcats (15-5) take an early lead on their way to a 7-5 win.
Heritage (13-9) scored first, getting two runs in the top of the first on RBI singles by Lucy Buuck and Ball State-bound Abriyah James.
But the Wildcats came right back in the bottom of the inning with a four-run rally to give them the lead for good. Taylor Long led off with a double against Heritage freshman hurler Hadlee Shipp. After Shipp got Hope Bradley on a groundout, Skinner drove in Long with a single.
With cleanup hitter Garr at the plate, Heritage catcher Sydney Martin threw Skinner out attempting to steal. That was fortunate for the Patriots, since Garr then drilled a 2-0 pitch over the center field fence to tie it at 2-2. Following her classmate’s example, Adkins made it back-to-back homers on a 3-1 pitch to give the Wildcats the lead.
Whitko wasn’t done yet. Hannah Long walked to keep the rally alive and eventually scored on Izzie Harman’s single to left to make it 4-2.
The second and third innings for the Heritage offense established its theme for the game: leaving runners on base. In the second, Teaghan O’Shaughnessey reached on a walk and Danica Fuller on an infield error, but both were stranded when Skinner induced Libby Cain to hit a grounder back to her for an easy third out.
In the third, James led off with a walk, and with one out, Buuck was hit by a pitch. Once again, though, Skinner worked out of the jam, striking out Sydney Martin and getting Calleigh Hirschy on a dribbler in front of the plate. In all, the Patriots would strand 12 while the Wildcats left only five.
The Wildcats padded their lead in the third when Skinner led off with a home run and Harman plated Garr with a double down the left field line.
The Pats chipped away at the lead in the fifth. James led off with a single, stole second, and scored on Avi Washington’s double to left center. Washington got caught off second when Bradley bobbled Buuck’s grounder to short, leaving Buuck on first on the fielder’s choice. Martin doubled to right center, with Buuck advancing to third, and Hirschy drove in Buuck with a single to bring Heritage within two at 6-4 with one out.
But Skinner recovered, stranding Hirschy and Martin by striking out O’Shaughnessey and getting Shipp on a fly out to center.
Whitko got an insurance run in the fifth when Hannah Long’s squeeze bunt scored Garr, who had singled and reached third on a double by Adkins.
In the top of the sixth, Patriot leadoff hitter Danica Fuller walked, went to second on a passed ball, and scored on Cain’s single to center.
Trailing 7-5 in the seventh, Heritage made a last-ditch effort for the win, with O’Shaughnessey and Shipp drawing one-out walks, but Skinner squelched the rally by getting Fuller and Cain on groundouts, the Patriots again stranding two runners.
Shipp (1-4) took the loss, giving up nine hits and two walks while striking out two. Skinner (8-1) earned the win. She struck out seven and gave up eight hits, walking six.
James had two hits and a walk for the Patriots. Skinner, Garr, Adkins, and Harman all had two hits for the Wildcats.
Heritage will host Woodlan Tuesday at 5:30 P.M.
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