‘Those are the fun games’: Henry’s hit highlights rally, Stambaugh’s glove seals victory for Saukees

PITTSFIELD, Ill. — Pittsfield softball coach Ariana White could sense the strings tightening, so she did her best to loosen them.

The Saukees led Western 7-6 entering the top of the seventh on Wednesday, but back-to-back errors put Wildcats runners on first and second with one out. White then made a trip to the pitcher’s circle.

“I was just telling them to slow down, go back to the basics, go step by step, just slow yourselves down,” White said.

That message especially worked for Saukees shortstop Torie Stambaugh, who made one of those errors.

“I tend to hold onto mistakes for fairly long,” Stambaugh siad. “They definitely stay with me.”

Stambaugh shook off that mistake and recorded the final two outs of the game. She threw out Brooklyn Stolte at third base on a fielder’s choice ground ball, then caught a popup off the bat of Allison Woods to end the game and seal a 7-6 victory over their Pike County rival.

“It was definitely nerve-wracking, but those are the fun games,” Stambaugh said.

The Saukees had to rally from a three-run deficit to put themselves in a position to close out the game in the top of the seventh. Three consecutive hits to start the bottom of the sixth brought the Saukees within a run. Lila Simon then delivered a single through the left side to tie the score with one out.

After Stambaugh flew out for the second out, Grace Henry strode to the plate with Simon at first base and Josie McClintock at second.

“I usually come up when those things happen, so it’s something I’m used to,” Henry said.

Henry wasted no time, squaring up a base hit to left field on the first pitch from Loryn White to score McClintock and give the Saukees their first lead of the game.

“I just have to settle in, look for my pitch and fight in the box, and that’s what I did,” Henry said.

Henry credited her teammates for keeping the line moving and giving her the chance to deliver the go-ahead RBI.

“We did a great job leading up to that of getting people on base,” Henry said. “People did their job, and that’s what got me in that situation. When I saw it come off my bat and it got through, I was really excited.”

The intensity of a one-run game got magnified when the leadoff hitter for the Wildcats in the seventh — University of Illinois-Springfield commit Rachel McMullen — launched the first pitch she saw from Emma Wombles to deep center field.

“I definitely immediately thought that was gone,” Wombles said.

Thankfully for Wombles and the Saukees, center fielder Kenley Gerard camped underneath the ball about 10 feet in front of the wall and hauled in the first out of the inning.

“Kenley did a great job of tracking it down and getting over there,” Henry said. “That’s props to her. Props to Emma for pitching through everything.”

The Saukees (11-2-1) have only lost one game — 10-4 to Quincy Notre Dame on Monday — since a season-opening loss to Carrollton. 

Each of Western’s last two losses have come by 7-6 scores, and they led in the sixth inning or later both times. The Wildcats (5-4) return home to face Beardstown on Thursday, while Pittsfield will face Carlinville on the road.