Woodland shakes Oak Ridge to reach district softball final

OAK RIDGE -- When the dust settled, there were 30 runs scored, 19 hits, 16 walks, 14 stolen bases, 13 wild pitches and seven errors.

The result was a wild and wacky 20-10 Woodland victory over host Oak Ridge in a Class 1 District 6 semifinal Thursday evening.

"I felt that no lead was safe," Woodland coach Andrea Arnold said. "But I had confidence that we would pull it out. ... You never feel completely safe. But there was confidence."

The game bore out Arnold's fears. Woodland saw leads of 2-1 and 6-2 evaporate as Oak Ridge refused to quit. The Blue Jays used a pair of four-run innings -- in the top of the third and fifth -- to remain within striking distance of the Cardinals.

But after the Blue Jays closed within 12-10 after its four-run fifth, the Cardinals finally closed the door behind senior pitcher Josie Long and a five-run fifth.

"It seemed like it took forever," said Long, who picked up the win in the circle by going all six innings and allowing 10 runs -- six earned -- on seven hits while walking eight and striking out nine. "But we got one more."

Woodland (11-6) advances to meet Leopold, 13-2 winners over Meadow Heights, in today's district final at 4 p.m. in Oak Ridge.

"Defensively, we struggled at times," Arnold said. "But I feel like today we came together. We didn't make a whole lot of errors after that first or second inning. We were pretty solid after that. But we were a little shaky with it being districts, and we've never played districts before with softball. But after maybe the jitters went away I think they kind of grabbed a hold and knew what they needed to do."

Mara Grindstaff gave Woodland an early lead with a two-run double in the bottom of the first, and Long's three-run double to left highlighted a four-run second to give the Cardinals a 6-2 lead entering the third.

Meadow Heights catcher Mayzie Thompson tags out Leopold’s Brittany Garland at the plate during the first inning in the Class 1 District 6 tournament Thursday, May 1, 2014 in Oak Ridge, Mo. (Fred Lynch)

But the host Blue Jays refused to fold. Oak Ridge parlayed two hits, two walks and two Woodland errors into a four-run third to tie the score at 6-6. Madison Hunt's two-run single to right was the key blow.

Woodland quickly regained the lead with a single run in the bottom of the third, then plated five in the bottom of the fourth on the strength of three hits, four stolen bases -- including a double steal that scored Long with the inning's first run -- and run-scoring singles by Grindstaff and Sierra Owens to put the Cardinals up 12-6.

But again, Oak Ridge rallied. The Blue Jays scored four times in the top of the fifth, the big blow being Candice Seyer's three-run double to center to pull Oak Ridge within 12-10.

"That's what we talked about before the game," Oak Ridge coach Adam Stoneking said. "Don't give up. Just keep battling no matter what the score was."

Then Woodland put up five runs in the bottom of the frame for a 17-10 lead as Grindstaff stroked a run-scoring double down the line in right and Rachel Poole added a run-scoring triple to deep center.

"If it wasn't for my team encouraging me and keeping my head up, I wouldn't have hit those," said Grindstaff, who finished 3 for 5 with two doubles and four RBIs. "I get a boost to drive one and run them in."

From there, it was a matter of Long settling down, and the senior right-hander did just that, keeping Oak Ridge scoreless in the sixth. The Cardinals then scored three times in the bottom of the inning as Lindsey Craft reached on a dropped third strike and scored on Shelby Sawyer's single to left. Grindtsaff then reached on an infield error that allowed both Cooper and Long to score, ending the game via the mercy rule.

In the end, it was a couple defensive plays that enabled the Cardinals to hold off the Blue Jays. Seyer was thrown out to end the top of the fifth trying to stretch her double into a triple, Craft getting the ball in quickly and an accurate relay throw nailing Seyer at third base. Then, in the sixth, Woodland third baseman Lacey Wilkinson made a stop on a shot down the line and threw to second for a force out. Long also speared a liner up the middle that took a hit away from Madison Hunt to end the top of the sixth.

"They were really solid defensively," said Stoneking, whose squad finished the spring season with four wins. "It's a couple plays, and maybe we win that ball game. We drop a ball, they end up scoring four runs [in the second]. A couple plays here and there make the difference in a ballgame."

Oak Ridge 114 040 -- 12 7 5

Woodland 241 553 -- 20 12 2

WP -- Josie Long. LP -- Audrey Hunt. 2B -- Candice Seyer (OR), Long (W), Shelby Sawyer (W), Mara Grindstaff 2 (W). 3B -- Rachel Poole (W). Multiple hits -- Oak Ridge: Kelly Hahs 2-2, Madison Hunt 2-4, Marissa Schamburg 2-3. Woodland: Long 2-4, Sawyer 2-4, Grindstaff 3-5, Anna Deck 2-4. Records: Woodland 11-6.