Davie softball drops bizarre game

BY MIKE LONDON
SALISBURY POST

There was lightning, there was thunder, there were multiple meetings between umpires and coaches, there were screaming fans and their was one excitable coach who managed to get himself confined to the dugout with his antics.

Hey, and that was just the first inning or so.

Between the lines, two really good softball teams played an incredible contest that lasted 10 innings and — thanks to an hour rain delay — nearly four hours.

What was going on in the visitors dugout, well, that was much too hard to describe.

Alexander Central’s coach, Monte Sherrill, is an ex-Marine, who coaches the school’s football team in the fall and its softball team in the spring just like he’s leading the first platoon into battle.

Sherrill’s girls whooped and hollered on every pitch for 10 innings with the same gusto with which Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders once charged up San Juan and Kettle hills. Intensity? Most college football games are garden parties compared to last night’s war at Rich Park.

But say what you want about Sherrill — Davie coach Tammy Reavis called him “a disgrace,” among other things — he gets big-time results. Even though occasionally, as was the case last night, he’s asked not to stray from the dugout. After nipping Davie (19-6), Sherrill is headed to Raleigh for the 4A final four for the sixth time in 10 years. Sherrill’s won at least 24 games every year since ‘89 and has won five state championships.

“We like to call Raleigh our home,” barked Sherrill, whose team still has a shot at at least 24 wins this year after improving to 23-6 last night.

“Yeah, you hear a lot about Alexander Central’s tradition,” said Davie rightfielder Tina Harkness. “I’d rather not comment on that team, though. As far as intensity, this was beyond anything ever. This was a lot more intense than playing West Forsyth (Davie’s biggest Central Piedmont Conference rival).”

The game began with a home run by Central’s M.A. Lee and was decided in the top of the 10th when the Cougars’ Monica Crouse drilled an inside-the-park homer to right-center.

In between, Davie’s pitching phenom, Shannon Handy, was terrific, matching Cougar star, Jamie Mecimore, pitch for pitch.

After spotting Central that leadoff homer, Davie tied the game in its half of the first when Ashlie Sanders singled solidly to right with two outs to score Ember Spillman.

Central, which knocked off West Forsyth 3-1 in its previous game, went right back on top with a run in the second, but the Cougars were taken out of a big inning when Davie third baseman Sanders fielded a bunt, faked a throw to first, then whirled and caught a runner at third napping.

“We let them off the hook a couple of times early,” admitted Sherrill.

Then Davie tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the inning. Ashley Quinn stirred chalk with a double to right and scored on Stacy Queen’s bunt.

After that Mecimore and Handy mowed people down for awhile.

But in the last of the sixth, Davie had a huge chance. Harkness tripled to start the inning and moments later the War Eagles had the bases loaded with none out. But Davie failed to score. The key play came when Quinn lashed a bullet that was plucked out of the air by first baseman Crouse.

“You can’t hit it any better than Ashley hit it,” sighed Reavis.

“We got some luck,” responded Sherrill.

Shortly after that Davie near miss, the clouds opened up. Rain cascaded down and lightning struck scarily close to the field. Play was stopped for nearly an hour.

“The delay didn’t hurt us,” said Reavis. “They had the momentum after we didn’t score with the bases loaded, and it gave our pitcher (Handy) a chance to get a break.”

But lightning, so to speak, would strike the War Eagles a second time.

The last of the eighth was an unfortunate replay of the last of the sixth. Again Harkness tripled to lead off and again she stayed at third base long enough to watch her favorite soap. Again, Davie filled the bases. Again, Davie didn’t score.

“We did the job to get runners on,” said Reavis. “But their defense did the job to stop us from getting them in.”

Davie didn’t get another real opportunity.

There had been suspense throughout the game, with both teams banging out eight hits and both leaving 10 on base. But Central stuck without warning in the 10th when Crouse hit a none on, two-out, two-strike shot between Harkness and center fielder Kim Hilton.

“It just kept rolling and rolling,” said Harkness, shaking her head. “We could have used a portable fence on that one.”

By the time the War Eagles retrieved the ball, Crouse scored without a play, diving head-first on to the plate and lying their for several seconds as the visiting crowd went bonkers.

Davie went down 1-2-3 in its half of the 10th, with the game ending on Hilton’s line out to third baseman LeahPennell.

When the ball streamed into Pennell’s glove, it simultaneously triggered a stream of tears from the War Eagles.

“It hurt because we played so hard and so well and because our crowd was so wonderful and supportive,” said Harkness. “I’ve never seen a crowd like this for Davie softball.”

“It’s one we won’t forget about, that’s for sure,” said Reavis.

“It’s a shame that someone had to lose this one,” said Sherrill. “Davie will have a hard time dealing with this one. You get people to third base, you’ve got to find a way to push them across. They just didn’t come through in the clutch. We didn’t play our best, but yeah, we’ll definitely take it.”