DANVILLE – Danville softball coach Charlie Duncan wasn’t worried when his team fell behind rival East Knox by six runs in the second inning of Tuesday’s Division IV district semifinal game at DARCI Field.
Emily Weckesser hit a two-run homer to tie and Keura Schilling drove in the go-ahead run to help the top-seeded Blue Devils to an 8-7 comeback win over the ninth-seeded Bulldogs.
“I kept hearing the dugout behind me saying we’re still in this,” Duncan said. “We were energized and I had no doubt in them.”
With the win, Danville is headed back to the district title game on Thursday, where it looks for its sixth consecutive championship. The Devils will meet another familiar foe in Northmor.
“We really worked together as a team to band together and get that win,” Schilling said. “We’re going for the six-peat, so we’re really working hard — especially having a young team. We’re pretty talented, and we’re proud of how far we’ve come.”
East Knox strung together five hits, and two others reached base in the second inning. Hannah McCoy hit an RBI single for the lead. Natalie Smith hit a two-run single, Cami Bailey followed with a double to score two more and Gracie Sheasby capped the rally with a sacrifice fly — and just like that, it was 6-0.
Schilling jump-started Danville’s comeback immediately. After the Devils loaded the bases on two walks and a hit-by-pitch, Schilling grounded a ball through the 5 hole for Danville’s first hit, scoring two runs.
“Sometimes it’s nerve-wracking,” said Schilling, who bats out of the lead-off spot. “The first at-bat, you don’t know what’s gonna come.
But being able to get on base and be there for my team, it’s huge. (Our) first three batters are quick and we’re able to get on base, and our power hitters in the four- and five spot are able to hit us in.”
Similarly, the Devils worked back-to-back walks with one out in the fourth inning. An out later, Taryn Mickley lined a double down the left field line to score two, cutting the deficit to 6-4.
Grace Gronberg reached base on an error to open the fifth inning and set up Weckesser, who got ahold of one, putting it over the wall in right-center to tie the game.
“I saw it coming up high (and) I knew to get my hands straight to it,” said Weckesser, a freshman catcher. “I felt really proud because I was doing it for my team.”
Sophie Snivley followed with a double, and one out later Schilling came through again with an RBI infield single to give the Devils the lead.
After Gronberg again reached base on an error in the sixth, pinch-runner Hope Moore stole second to set up what would be the winning run. She scored on an error to push the lead to 8-6.
“(Moore) made a mistake the other day and it cost us a run,” Duncan said. “She knew that. I gave her a little tough love. She learned from it and I was proud of her tonight.”
Meanwhile, Gronberg kept the Bulldogs at bay in the circle. She tossed the final 5 1/3 innings, allowing one earned run on one hit and two walks with four strikeouts.
“Grace and I are really close and we work really well together,” Weckesser said. “I know all of her spots; I know all of her pitches. I knew that she could get the job done.”
Bailey hit a solo home run in the second inning to break up a string of 10 in a row retired by Gronberg.
“We saw (starting pitcher Maddy Wine) twice before,” East Knox coach Homer Simmons said. “We never could get the bats going again after they switched (pitchers). That was our demise. They were just a little too much for us with their bats, and their speed’s pretty good too. We tried to hold on and couldn’t do it.”
The freshman refocused and got the final two outs to seal the win.
“A lot of freshmen would take a few steps back and pucker up, I guess,” Duncan said. “Not her. She said, ‘Gimme the ball!’ and I’m real proud of her today.”
