One Bad Inning Dooms Triton
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
BREMEN - Triton softball coach Eileen Mariani had seen the fourth inning all too many times before.
Oh, it wasn't always the fourth. Maybe it was the third or fifth or any other inning.
Still, she had seen the fourth inning, or at least innings like the fourth, throughout the regular season. She saw it again in Tuesday's Bremen Class A Sectional game with Bethany Christian.
Bethany Christian scored six runs in the top of the fourth inning -Êthanks to four Triton errors - en route to an 8-7 first-round sectional win over the Trojans.
Bethany Christian improved to 5-18, while Triton ended the season 5-21.
"It was the story of what happened to us all season - the one-inning killer," Mariani said. "Defensively, we have that one inning in a game that gets us."
People said after Game 7 between the Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls that the Bulls didn't beat the Pacers inasmuch the Pacers beat themselves.
Triton's players know that feeling. The Bruins sent 11 hitters to the plate in the fourth inning. Out of the 11, only four batters got hits, all singles.#
What made Mariani cringe was thinking about the bottom of the third inning. The Trojans had broken a 1-1 game with three runs in the inning to take a 4-1 lead. Like Triton, Bethany Christian had that one bad inning. Two of the Triton runners who scored reached on errors, while the other reached on a fielder's choice. The Bruins committed three errors in the inning.
When a team takes a 4-1 lead, coaches stress to their players the importance of shutting down the opposition in the next inning. Instead, Triton turned around and immediately allowed six runs to give the Bruins the 7-4 lead.
"We had a nice lead, but we couldn't hold our momentum," Mariani said.
Bethany tacked on another run in the sixth inning on a solo home run by Gretchen Gusler. Not only was it a home run, it was an inside-the-park home run on a ball that rolled to the right-field wall. Not only did Gusler hit the inside-the-park home run, she crossed home plate before the Trojans got the ball back into the infield. Gusler put the Bruins up 8-4.
A Triton team that had managed only two hits through six innings awoke in the bottom of the seventh inning with three hits.
With one out, Elizabeth Miller and Jill Klonowski hit back-to-back singles. Amilia Devros, who finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBIs, doubled Miller home. Klonowski went to third then scored on a wild pitch. Devros advanced to third on the wild pitch.
With two outs, Melissa Claxon walked to put the tying run on base. When Claxon stole second, Devros broke for home and scored on the throw to second base by Gusler, the Bruin catcher. Devros made it an 8-7 game. With two outs, Triton had the tying run in scoring position.
But Bruin pitcher Amy Leatherman, who tossed the complete game, kept Claxon at second by striking out Janell Salisbury to end the game.
"We didn't give up," Mariani said. "The thing I liked about this game was the way our bats came around near the end. We only ran out of time."
Klonowski took the loss for Triton. She pitched the complete game, allowing six hits while walking four. She struck out eight. Triton had five wins this season; all five belonged to Klonowski. [[In-content Ad]]
BREMEN - Triton softball coach Eileen Mariani had seen the fourth inning all too many times before.
Oh, it wasn't always the fourth. Maybe it was the third or fifth or any other inning.
Still, she had seen the fourth inning, or at least innings like the fourth, throughout the regular season. She saw it again in Tuesday's Bremen Class A Sectional game with Bethany Christian.
Bethany Christian scored six runs in the top of the fourth inning -Êthanks to four Triton errors - en route to an 8-7 first-round sectional win over the Trojans.
Bethany Christian improved to 5-18, while Triton ended the season 5-21.
"It was the story of what happened to us all season - the one-inning killer," Mariani said. "Defensively, we have that one inning in a game that gets us."
People said after Game 7 between the Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls that the Bulls didn't beat the Pacers inasmuch the Pacers beat themselves.
Triton's players know that feeling. The Bruins sent 11 hitters to the plate in the fourth inning. Out of the 11, only four batters got hits, all singles.#
What made Mariani cringe was thinking about the bottom of the third inning. The Trojans had broken a 1-1 game with three runs in the inning to take a 4-1 lead. Like Triton, Bethany Christian had that one bad inning. Two of the Triton runners who scored reached on errors, while the other reached on a fielder's choice. The Bruins committed three errors in the inning.
When a team takes a 4-1 lead, coaches stress to their players the importance of shutting down the opposition in the next inning. Instead, Triton turned around and immediately allowed six runs to give the Bruins the 7-4 lead.
"We had a nice lead, but we couldn't hold our momentum," Mariani said.
Bethany tacked on another run in the sixth inning on a solo home run by Gretchen Gusler. Not only was it a home run, it was an inside-the-park home run on a ball that rolled to the right-field wall. Not only did Gusler hit the inside-the-park home run, she crossed home plate before the Trojans got the ball back into the infield. Gusler put the Bruins up 8-4.
A Triton team that had managed only two hits through six innings awoke in the bottom of the seventh inning with three hits.
With one out, Elizabeth Miller and Jill Klonowski hit back-to-back singles. Amilia Devros, who finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBIs, doubled Miller home. Klonowski went to third then scored on a wild pitch. Devros advanced to third on the wild pitch.
With two outs, Melissa Claxon walked to put the tying run on base. When Claxon stole second, Devros broke for home and scored on the throw to second base by Gusler, the Bruin catcher. Devros made it an 8-7 game. With two outs, Triton had the tying run in scoring position.
But Bruin pitcher Amy Leatherman, who tossed the complete game, kept Claxon at second by striking out Janell Salisbury to end the game.
"We didn't give up," Mariani said. "The thing I liked about this game was the way our bats came around near the end. We only ran out of time."
Klonowski took the loss for Triton. She pitched the complete game, allowing six hits while walking four. She struck out eight. Triton had five wins this season; all five belonged to Klonowski. [[In-content Ad]]