Ella Chilton blasts a three-run homer in the top of the fifth inning to put Forrest in front of Community. (Post Photos by Chris Siers)
By CHRIS SIERS
csiers@bedfordcountypost.com
UNIONVILLE — Forrest and Community have gotten to know each other pretty well over the years as backyard rivals.
Although the Lady Rockets have held the stranglehold on the series for years, Community has come on strong as of late and entering Wednesday night’s Region 5-2A championship game in Unionville, held a 4-0 record over Forrest so far this season.
That streak is over.
Forrest relied on small ball to get runners on base and then surged past the Viqueens via the long ball to take the region title with the 8-5 win over Community on Wednesday and secure a home berth in the Class 2A state sectional.
“They (Community) are hard to hit and are difficult. We’ve been working on our swings. We worked on attacking the ball. Long ball is kind of our strong suit. Sometimes we have to play into that,” Lady Rocket coach Shelby Lightfoot said.
“Making adjustments in the postseason is a big part of it. We have strong pitching, our defense is pretty good, but it was ‘Can we put the ball in play?’ Just super proud of them showing up tonight at the plate.”
Early on, it looke
Starting pitcher Taylor Moreland gave up just three earned runs on eight hits during Wednesday’s region title game. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
d like Community was well on its way to picking up a fifth win against the Lady Rockets after plating the first three runs of the game, and with starting Viqueen pitcher Annie Prince keeping the Forrest bats quiet through the first few innings.
Emory Hall gave the Lady Rockets a much-needed shot in the arm in the top of the third when she crushed a lead-off homer to right field, putting Forrest on the board.
Forrest pushed a second run across the plate in the inning following a Community error in the infield.
Still, Forrest trailed 3-2 after three innings, but continued to put runners on base and moved them into scoring position.
Although the Lady Rockets stranded two in scoring position in the fourth, senior Ella Chilton blasted a three-run homer over the center field fence to push Forrest out in front, 5-3.
The Lady Rockets never trailed again.
Community answered Chilton’s homer in the bottom of the inning and tied the game at five, but it was the Lady Rocket bats that stayed hot and was able to play add on to jump back out in front.
Haddie Van Patten mashed a solo homer to lead off the sixth and then drove home two more insurance runs in the top of the seventh on a double.
“She (Van Patten) had a great night, even going back to Summertown. I felt like she really locked in. To go down your first at-bat, shake it off and come back and have two great at-bats after that is just that leadership from her,” Lightfoot said.
Van Patten went 2-for-4 with three RBIs to her credit, while Chilton finished 1-for-4 with three RBIs as well.
In the circle, Taylor Moreland was able to minimize the damage by the Viqueens and limited Community to five runs, only three of which were earned, on eight hits while striking out five batters.
“It’s great going into this part of the season. We’ve had to fight this whole year for every game we’ve been in. This team just keeps digging their heels in and finding a way,” Lightfoot said.
The win secures the Lady Rockets a home field state sectional game on Friday with a trip to the Class 2A state tournament on the line.
Although Forrest has been a state power for years, the on-field experience of the big-time games is limited to just a handful of players.
“We’ve had some great teams come through here, but this is maybe the first team that might have two on the field that have ever played more than two or three years of Forrest softball—Moreland on the mound and Chilton at first,” Lightfoot said.
“Other than that, we’re talking about players who have played one year—if that. Taking this team and building them to even be able to compete, that’s a testament to their hard work.”
While the season has been filled with its ups and downs, Forrest now sets its sights on Huntingdon, who fell in the Region 6-2A championship game to Camden Central.
“I’m super proud of them and the sky’s the limit,” Lightfoot said.
First pitch is set for 4 p.m. on Friday in Chapel Hill.
Forrest 002 031 2 — 8 9 1
Community 210 020 0 — 5 8 2
Forrest: Ella Chilton 1-for-4, Allie Dillon 1-for-1, Maddy Chilton 1-for-3, Haddie Van Patten 2-for-4, Emory Hall 1-for-4, Megan Dunn 1-for-4, Hailee Warren 2-for-2.
Community: Anna Haskins 2-for-4, Mattie Maxey 1-for-3, Taylar Wessner 2-for-4, Gracie Daniel 1-for-4, Haylee Webb 1-for-4, Annie Prince 1-for-3.
WP: Moreland
LP: Prince
