Whiteoak outmaneuvers Fairfield for rivalry victory

LEESBURG — The little things in softball can stand out more than what the dominating factors are to a softball game, and that was the case that eventually led to a 1-0 Whiteoak Lady Wildcats victory Tuesday.

The dominating factors of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference victory were the two pitchers in Whiteoak senior Kiley Sosby and Fairfield senior Arica Melson, as the two pitchers allowed a combined three hits in the game.

Sosby allowed one hit, coming in the seventh inning with one out, as Sosby entered the inning with a perfect game on the line. Melson allowed one hit in the first, along with a hit in the fourth inning.

Whiteoak’s lone run came in the first, and how the Lady 'Cats crossed home plate was one of those little aspects of the game that sent them to their SHAC victory.

The Lady 'Cats (7-0) began the inning with two consecutive outs, but it was Ashleigh Harless who kept the inning alive with a solid double hit to right field. She took third on a dropped pitch and eventually was caught up in a rundown, only to maneuver her way past multiple throws at the third base line, eventually missing a tag attempt by less than an inch to race to home for the one-run lead.

"I told her once I noticed they overthrew the ball to go, but she hesitated a little bit, and that's what got her in the pickle in the first place," WHS head coach Trisha Hauke said. "She was smart, and she's one of the few I don't mind being in that type of situation. I didn't worry about it when she was in it, and she got us the run."

As it turned out, that was the only run the Lady 'Cats needed, because both pitchers and the defense behind them were stellar throughout the remainder of the game.

"This was a game between two great pitchers," FHS head coach Mark Dettwiller said.

After the first inning was complete with the 1-0 score, Melson answered by striking out four consecutive batters in the next two innings, striking out three straight Whiteoak players in the second and the first batter of the third inning.

In fact, from the time Melson allowed her first hit in the aforementioned first inning, no WHS batter reached the bases until the top of the fourth on a second base hit.

Melson, who pitched a no-hitter the day before against West Union (her fourth career no-hitter), finished by giving up the one unearned run on three hits and no walks. The senior struck out seven in the loss.

"Arica was on (Tuesday)," Dettwiller said. "The past four games, she's thrown the ball very well. She's really stepped her game up and hit her spots."

Melson's counterpart, Sosby, was even more un-hittable than Melson. The Division I signee Sosby retired the first 19 Fairfield batters she faced, until the seventh inning when Fairfield senior Shaylee Carson broke up Sosby's third perfect game bid of the season with a slap hit to the third base side of the field.

The ball was fielded cleanly, but Carson beat the throw that also popped out of the glove of the first baseman for the lone FHS hit of the game. The game ended on a line drive to second base caught by Jaycie Parr, keeping the Lady ’Cats undefeated.

The loss for FHS moves them to 3-1 overall, 2-1 in the SHAC.

In her seven innings in the circle, Sosby allowed just one hit, no walks, no runs and struck out 13 batters.

"This year for Kiley has been awesome," Hauke said. "I can't stress how much the team in general has improved since last year. Our defense is tremendous, and they came ready to work.

"I told them at the beginning of the year, if they play like I know they can, nobody can beat us. When the girls play like they have … we've only given up three runs in seven games. That says a lot."

This win was not only big for league play, but it was big for the Whiteoak program in general.

"The girls get nervous when we play Fairfield, and I told them we are playing the team, not the name," Hauke said. "The girls at the beginning were still playing the name and not the team, and hopefully when we play them again, we'll hit the ball like I know we can.

"That was one of the things we didn't do … we didn't hit the ball, and that's not going to get it."

The two teams will play again on Friday, this time at Whiteoak High School at 5 p.m.