Two of the best in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference face off as North Adams’ Carlee Garrison delivers a pitch to Manchester’s Rylie Young as the two teams met in conference play on April 22. Garrison got the best of things that day, throwing a no-hitter in a 5-0 Lady Devils’ win. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
Manchester shortstop Elianna Applegate rifles a throw to first for an out in action from the Lady Hounds’ battle with North Adams on April 22. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
North Adams left fielder Lilly Parker hauls in this deep fly ball off the bat of Manchester’s Elianna Applegate in the fourth inning of the Lady Devils’ 5-0 win. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
If you want to find the best 5-11 softball team in southeast Ohio, you might not look any further than Coach Paula Armstrong and her North Adams Lady Devils. Though the record might not be a good indicator, the Lady Devils have shown steady improvement and on April 22 picked up one of their biggest wins in recent history.
The North Adams girls traveled to Manchester to face the Lady Hounds, who had already reached 10 wins for the season and are considered one of the top hitting teams in the area. With the two teams in separate divisions of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference, this would be the only meeting of the season between them and the Lady Devils made it one to remember, pulling off the upset in memorable fashion.
North Adams sent junior Carlee Garrison, who had tossed four complete games the previous week (winning three), into the center circle, matched up against Manchester senior Rylie Young who had been the winning pitcher in all of the Lady Hounds’ victories this season. But on this day, it was Garrison who ruled the roost. The junior right hander threw a gem, a no-hitter while allowing just three base runners, as the Lady Devils’ offense provided the punch in a 5-0 triumph for the visitors. Garrison was dominant, retiring the first 13 Manchester hitters, striking out four while her defense was flawless behind her.
“Carlee had a great game,” exclaimed Coach Armstrong. “She pitched great the night before as well only giving up one run in the game. She was extremely efficient in her pitching on Tuesday and finished the game only throwing 65 pitches. She was hitting her spots, making it difficult for the batters and the defense was there for her and made the plays. It was a great team effort and I’m so happy for Carlee achieving this.”
The Lady Devils got what turned out to be the only run that Garrison needed in the top of the first inning. Leadoff hitter Jerzi Tong drew a walk, and moved to third on a Garrison single to right. Catcher Paige Evans lifted a fly ball to center, deep enough for Tong to tag and score the game’s first run.
In the top of the third, North Adams added two more to their lead. With one out, Garrison reached on an error and raced around to third on a double to right center by Evans. After Young got Marley Whalen looking for the second out, Riley Woods laced a line drive past first baseman Mahayla Brown and down the right field line, bringing both runners home and giving the visitors a 3-0 advantage.
The Lady Hounds got their first base runner in the bottom of the fifth when Peyton Hayslip drew a one-out walk, but Garrison got Brown and Kloey Carter to ground out to keep the shutout and no-hitter intact.
In the top of the seventh, the Lady Devils picked up a pair of insurance runs to extend their lead out to five. Tong again led off the frame with a base on balls, followed by Garrison blasting a two-base hit to deep center field that scored Tong. Evans backed that up with a single to left that plated Garrison and the visitors had a big lead and three outs remaining to get.
In the bottom of the seventh, Manchester managed two runners on base for the first time, with Young reaching on a throwing error and one out later, Bristynn McClanahan being hit by a pitch. Garrison got out of the jam and finished off her gem by getting Hayslip swinging and Brown on a ground out to second base for the final out.
Besides her no-hit performance from the pitching rubber, Garrison helped her cause by going 2 for 3 at the plate, scoring twice and driving home one. Paige Evans (hitting .675 for the season) went 2 for 3 and drove home a pair.
Young took the loss, allowing three earned runs while striking out 10 North Adams hitters.
The win improved the Lady Devils then to 5-8, but they dropped a pair of non-conference outings later in the week, 10-0 to Miami Trace and 7-4 to Greenfield McClain. Despite those losses, Coach Armstrong’s squad stands 3-4 in the big school division of the SHAC, still within striking distance of first place Lynchburg (7-1) and second place Eastern Brown (5-3).
The loss dropped Manchester to 10-4 on the season and was a critical defeat in the conference. The Lady Hounds now stand 3-2 in the small school division, chasing first place Fairfield (8-0). Weather permitting, those two teams are scheduled to meet in Leesburg on Friday, May 2.
North Adams
102 000 2 —5
Manchester
000 000 0 —0
N. Adams Hitting (AB-R-H-RBI): Tong 2-2-0-0, Garrison 3-2-2-1, Evans 3-1-2-2, Whalen 4-0-1-0, Woods 3-0-1-2, Tumbleson 3-0-0-0, Armstrong 3-0-0-0, Taylor 3-0-1-0, Parker 2-0-0-0, Edwards 1-0-0-0, Team 27-5-7-5
Extra-Base Hits: Garrison 2B, Evans 2B
Manchester Hitting (AB-R-H-RBI): Hunter 3-0-0-0, Young 3-0-0-0, E. Applegate 3-0-0-0, McClanahan 2-0-0-0, Hayslip 2-0-0-0, Brown 3-0-0-0, Carter 2-0-0-0, J. Applegate 2-0-0-0, Neria 2-0-0-0, Team 22-0-0-0.
N. Adams Pitching:
Garrison (W)- 7 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
Manchester Pitching:
Young (L)- 7 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 10 K
