With the district race winding down, the Italy Lady Gladiators Softball team had a chance to secure sole possession of 1st place in the division on Tuesday. To make it happen, Italy would have to overpower the Hubbard Lady Jaguars who had already defeated the Lady Gladiators earlier this season, 5-2 in Hubbard.

On the mound for Italy was senior pitching ace Courtney Westbrook(10). Stepping up on the hill for Hubbard was junior power pitcher Cassie Skilling(10) who’s only loss in district this season was against Dawson.

In fact, it was Italy’s 11-6 win over Dawson last week that setup this district showdown with the Lady Jags.

Top of the 1st inning:
The first Hubbard batter was quickly sent back to the dugout courtesy of a strike three pitch from Italy’s Westbrook. Hubbard grounded out to Lady Gladiator second baseman Cori Jeffords who threw to fellow senior Drew Windham at first base for the 2nd out.

Hubbard’s next batter hits a grounder and beats the trow to first, 1 runner on. Hubbard’s fourth batter drives a gounder past the mound and directly over second base for a single. With Lady Jag runners on second and third, Westbrook comes thru with another strikeout for the third out, stranding the Hubbard runners. Score remains 0-0.

Bottom of the 1st inning:
Italy’s Westbrook hits into an out followed by Windham who does likewise. Sophomore Megan Richards launches a high ball into right field but Hubbard was far enough back to make the catch for the 3rd out.

Top of 2nd inning:
Hubbard’s first batter battles at the plate and walks to lead off. Westbrook strikes out Hubbard’s next batter, 1 down. A grounder hit to Jeffords at second beats the runner with a throw to Windam on first base, 2 down. Hubbards slaps a shot back to the mound and beats the throw to first, 2 outs with 1 runner on base. Hubbard eventually gets runners on first and third but Westbrook comes thru with another strikeout for the 3rd out. Score remains 0-0.

Bottom of 2nd inning:
Italy freshman Alyssa Richards drives a grounder to Hubbard’s third baseman who makes the play and throws Alyssa out at first base. Another freshman sensation from Italy, Anna Viers, swings and misses at strike three but heads for first base after the Hubbard catcher dropped the ball. Hubbard recovers to keep Viers, a fast threat when running the bases for Italy, off the field. Italy’s next batter strikes out as Hubbard’s defense gets three up, three down.

Top of 3rd inning:
Back-to-back singles by Hubbard put runners at first and second. Hubbard’s pitcher doubles to break the tie and gives Hubbard a 1-0 lead, leaving runners at second and third with no outs. Hubbard returns a grounder to Westbrook on the mound. Westbrook fields the ball, tries to hold the runner on 3rd before throwing to Windham at first. Windham catches the throw from Westbrook for out number one and then fires to Italy catcher Alyssa Richards at home plate.

Hubbard’s runner beats the throw back to the plate making the score 2-0, Jags in front. Hubbard’s next batter fouls one away and then pops up to right field where Italy’s Alma Suaste makes the grab and guns the ball to Viers who covered second from her shortstop position. The effort caught Hubbard failing to tag-up properly and credited Suaste with a double play to hand Hubbard their third out.

Bottom of 3rd:
Italy’s Jeffords hits a grounder but gets thrown out at first. Italy’s next batter strikes out. With 2 outs, Suaste wins a battle against Skilling at the plate and earns a walk. Suaste steals second base. Westbrook hits a single to move Suaste to third, 2 on. Windham connects but Skilling makes the play and throws Windham out at first. Score remains 2-0 Jags.

Top of 4th:
Hubbard’s first batter pops one high to first base and Windham makes the catch for out number one. Hubbard flies out to Suaste in right field, two gone. Hubbard hits a shot to shortstop but beats the throw to first base to get a Lady Jaguar on base. Hubbard’s next batter sends the ball trickling up the first base line. Windham hustles to scoop the grounder and tag the runner as she passes.

The runner was initially ruled safe due to baseline interference, but a protest to the umpire from Italy head coach Jennifer Reeves got the decision overturned for out number 3.

Bottom of the 4th:
First up, Megan Richards drives a chest high shot back to the mound but Skilling knocked it down with enough time to throw the sophomore out at first. Alyssa Richards hits a grounder to the Hubbard shortstop who beats the freshman to first base with the throw.

Viers hits a straight-line grounder past 3rd base for a single. Unfortunately, Italy’s next batter goes down swinging and Italy is held scoreless thus far, 2-0 Jags.

Top of 5th:
Hubbard hits a wicked grounder to second and beats the late throw for a single. Hubbard’s next batter walks to put runners on first and second. Westbrook records another strikeout. A Jaguar pop up, down the first base line, is hauled in by Alyssa Richards who flung off her catcher’s mask to make the play for out number two.

Hubbard doubles to centerfield to score another run, 3-0 Jags. Hubbard flies out to Meredith Brummett in left field for the final out and Italy races into the dugout with a sense of urgency.

Bottom of 5th:
Italy’s Jeffords, who’s been a consistent hitter for the Lady Gladiators, singles and then gets awarded second base on an overthrow to first that sailed into the Lady Gladiators dugout. Italy’s Bailey Bumpus, sophomore, doubles to put runners on second and third. Again, Suaste puts up a fight against Skilling but eventually hits into an out down the first base line.

With two runners on and one out, Westbrook gets a hit but is unable to beat the throw to first base by a fraction. The RBI effort scores Jeffords who slides head first into home to beat the throw from first. 3-1 Jags, Italy with 2 outs. Italy’s next batter strikes out but not before the Lady Gladiators made some noise in the bottom of the 5th.

“The whole time I was running home I was trying to decide if I was going to slide or dive, slide or dive…because I usually slide. The next thing I knew, I was looking up for the umpire’s call thru a cloud of dust,” said Cory Jeffords.

Top of the 6th inning:
With the hometown crowd beginning to swell with fans making their way over from the Gladiators’ 8-1 win over Frost that sealed the district championship for the boys, Hubbard grounds out to Jeffords at second who throws to Windham on first for the out. With Westbrook pitching strong, Hubbards grounds out to Jeffords at second who throws to Windham on first for the second out. Westbrook strikes out Hubbard’s third batter to retire the side.

Bottom of the 6th inning:
Megan Richards jars a single past the Jags infield. Alyssa Richards bunts to advance her older sister to second base. Brummett crushes a low-line single into Hubbard’s outfield scoring Megan Richards as Italy closes the deficit 3-2. With 2 outs and runners on base for Italy, Skilling registers a strikeout to get the Lady Jaguars out of the inning before the home team can inflict any more damage.

Top of the 7th inning:
Hubbard’s lead batter hits to Viers who guns the Lady Jag down from her shortsop position to Windham on first base. With one out and a surging Lady Gladiators’ team, Hubbard’s next batter powers a shot into right field. Jeffords cut the throw off in the grass and then torched a pass to Alyssa Richards standing at home plate. The nice throw from Jeffords did not arrive in time to try for a tag at the plate. The homerun hit by Hubbard was a huge momentum swing giving the Lady Jaguar’s a 4-2 lead. Hubbard’s next batter pops out to Megan Richards at third base for out number 2.

Hubbard next batter pops the ball up behind third base, only this time, Viers and Richards miscommunicate on the catch. The ball drops fair putting a Lady Jag on first. The infield error doesn’t cost Italy any runs as Hubbard’s next batter hits a grounder to Megan Richards who swiftly throws to Windham on first for the 3rd out.

Bottom of the 7th inning:
For all the marbles, on their home field, Italy gets ready for what could be their last chance to win the game and claim 1st place. Suaste lays down a nice bunt toward third base but even with her quicks is unable to beat the throw by Hubbard, 1 out. Westbrook pops out to the hill, Skilling is now one out away from sweeping the Lady Gladiators this season.

With 1st place on the line, Windham hits a grounder past the hill and across second base for a single. Down 2 runs, with 2 outs and a runner on, Italy’s Megan Richards hits a sharp grounder that’s played well by Hubbard’s shortstop.
The throw to first base ends the game, gives Hubbard the sweep with a 4-2 win and sole possession of 1st place in the district with just one game left for both teams before the playoffs.

The pitchers duel in this matchup was a classic. Westbrook and Skilling kept their emotions in check while trying to lead their teams to a win. There was a lot riding on every pitch, every swing and on the game, but both sides showed their toughness.

Italy assistant coach Andrea Windham said after the game, “The girls just kept playing hard and I was really happy to see that. They didn’t waiver under the pressure and we gave ourselves a chance at the end against a good ball club. This experience will be good for us in the playoffs.”

The Lady Gladiators play their final district game at home against Frost Today at 5:30 p.m.