Shayna Myshrall did everything she could in the pitcher’s circle earn a fourth consecutive Section III Class A championship team for the Jamesville-DeWitt softball team.
Yet it wasn’t until Myshrall had an opportunity to swing the bat late in Monday’s sectional final against Whitesboro at Onondaga Community College that the Red Rams were able to pull out a tense 1-0 decision.
Whitesboro was out to get even after J-D beat them in the 2018 sectional final, and this time brought a sharp pitcher of its own in right-hander Caitlin Reilly to oppose Myshrall.
And through the game’s early stages, it was the Warriors getting better chances as Reilly retired the first 10 batters she faced, seven of them with strikeouts.
A first-inning walk and third-inning single got runners on base, and in the fourth Whitesboro had Madison Cieslak on first base when Reilly’s grounder led to a throwing error – but Miriam Zogby, who already had a nice catch on a second-inning line drive, threw out Cieslak trying to reach third base.
What happened in the bottom of the fourth framed the game’s ultimate outcome. Paige Keeler singled, J-D’s first hit of the day, and Myshrall stepped to the plate.
Reilly was careful with Myshrall, a .429 hitter who leads the Rams in home runs, walking her, and with two force plays Whitesboro kept the game 0-0.
In the top of the sixth, Cieslak smacked a two-out double. Again, Whitesboro had a chance to move in front with Reilly at the plate, but she grounded out.
And this led to the bottom of the sixth. With two away, Keeler tripled, and Myshrall was up. With two bases open and a potent hitter at the plate, the Warriors decided to pitch to Myshrall.
“I was a little surprised,” said Myshrall. “But I had to be ready. I was looking to hit the ball.”
Sure enough, Myshrall found the gap in left field, her double scoring Keeler with the only run needed. Three ground balls in the seventh inning completed Myshrall’s shutout as she limited the Warriors to just two hits.
Now again J-D would go after a first-ever state championship, taking on Franklin Academy (Section X) Thursday at Canton High School and looking to advance to Saturday’s regional final against the Section II champions at Schalmont.
