Taking it to the limit

Ryan Hatch
The Duncan Banner

BRAY September 26, 2008 11:15 am

— BRAY — Even the lights got tired Thursday night. But they stayed lighted long enough, as Bray-Doyle’s softball team was able to stave off Wayne High School for the 2008 district championship in a three-game set that lasted a few minutes under seven hours.
The Lady Donkeys won Games 1 and 3, by scores of 5-0 and 4-0, respectively.
Jordan Brown pitched all 21 innings on Thursday, throwing with as much velocity in the seventh inning of the third game as she did in the first of Game 1.
“She’s one in a million,” head coach Joe Knapp said of Brown. “I would have to go and pry the ball from her hand to keep her from pitching.”
Brown finished with 30 strikeouts, several of them with two outs and runners on base. Bray-Doyle’s defense also helped her out on a number of occasions, catching line drives and diving for balls, taking away over half a dozen base hits. Knapp said he was impressed with his girls as they stayed mentally and physically focused during the night.
“I’m proud of all of them,” he said. “Our defense really played well all night.”
Scoring wasn’t easy to come by for either team, as Bray-Doyle scored early in the games and held on the rest of the way. In the first game, the Lady Donkeys jumped on the board early, scoring twice as Brandi Connelly knocked in Brown after her leadoff base hit. Whittney Mayes later drove in Kendra Balthrop on a single to right, setting the tone early and giving Brown some run support. Later in the third inning, Shelbi Copeland had a two-run single, driving in Balthrop and Connelly, comfortably putting the Lady Donkeys ahead for good.
In the second game, Wayne was able to keep the score close, battling back and tying the game at two in the fifth inning. In the bottom of the seventh, Blaike Boles had the game-winning hit, scoring Ashley Martin from second base to win the game 3-2. Boles finished 2-for-3 in the game with a walk and an RBI.
Brown had nine strikeouts, three walks and allowed six hits. She was responsible for all the runs earned.
The deciding third game started about an hour late and had a couple delays as the field lights didn’t want to cooperate. After delays of about 20 and 30 minutes, play resumed and Brown shut down any hope Wayne had of getting back into the game. She struck out 11 batters, overpowering every part of the Lady Bulldogs’ line-up.
Sarah Justice had an RBI double in the fourth inning as Brown helped her own cause in the circle, going 1-for-2, reaching base two other times, walking and getting hit by a pitch. Shayla Bingham hit well for Bray-Doyle, going 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored. Heather Stinnett also stepped up with a hit and a run scored, reaching base as she was hit by a pitch.
But Brown saved her best for last, blanking Wayne and earning the victory. Her pitch speed didn’t waver as the game progressed and didn’t appear to be affected by the stoppages of play, coming back even stronger in the later innings. She walked only one batter in the third game. After the game, Knapp had a hard time describing how impressed he was with Brown.
“She always puts the team first and she’s a huge part of what we do,” he said.