Colonels’ Wood no-hits Cosmos

High School Junior Kayla Wood threw the fourth no-hitter of her young career as Brattleboro downed Springfield at Bill Robinson Memorial Field, 6-1. http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20120517/SPORTS02/705179895

Published May 17, 2012 in the Rutland Herald Colonels’ Wood no-hits Cosmos By POODY WALSH Herald Correspondent SPRINGFIELD — There are reasons the Brattleboro softball team has not lost to a Vermont opponent since 2009. Certainly the three-hour practice sessions are a contributing factor, but when you get the pitching like the Colonels did Wednesday from junior Kayla Wood, that becomes reason No. 1. The junior threw the fourth no-hitter of her young career as Brattleboro downed Springfield at Bill Robinson Memorial Field, 6-1. Brattleboro, which has won the Division I title each of the last two years, is 10-2 this season, both losses coming to Massachusetts teams. And the Colonels victory came against one of the better teams in the south as Springfield, the defending Division II champion, is 9-3 and lost just 1-0 to the Colonels earlier this season. However, this day belonged to Wood, who has a change, curve and rise to go with her fastball. She threw 99 pitches, 74 for strikes. She fanned 14 and walked two. Both the walks were to Jill Rushton. The only other Cosmo to get on was Kaylee Haskell, who reached on Brattleboro’s only error. The hardest-hit ball off Wood was a line drive by Jen Stein that was speared by Colonel first baseman Haley Struthers in the sixth inning. “And she has great command,” her coach Kelly Markol said. “She hits her spots.” While the eventual score looks like a comfortable win, it didn’t get that way until the Colonels put across four runs in the last two innings. In fact, Markol got real uncomfortable in the first inning when Springfield took a 1-0 lead on a dropped fly ball. “Oh, she’s got to catch that ball,” said Markol, who was perhaps envisioning another 1-0 game. But the Colonels, who at times this season have had trouble scoring, got two long triples from McKenzie Bover and sacrifice flies from Mary Richardson to move into the lead. The second triple was a long drive that rolled to the fence in left. “That would have been a home run on our field,” Markol said. “We hit the ball better today.” After Springfield took a 1-0 lead in the first, Brattleboro tied it in third and with a run and took the lead for good with a run in the fourth. The latter came on a bunt single by Alyson Bezonson, a sacrifice by Daisy Giroux and two wild pitches. In the fourth, Bover tripled off the chalk in left and rode home on Richardson’s first sacrifice fly. Two more Colonels crossed the plate in the sixth as Bover tripled in one and Richardson got her second sacrifice fly. The Colonels wrapped up the scoring in the seventh on singles by Giroux and Bailey Paige and two Springfield errors. Springfield coach Andy Bladyka knew that his Cosmos were going to have to play near-perfect ball to beat Wood and it didn’t happen. “We made too many mistakes and she showed what a great pitcher she is.” said Bladyka. Springfield got a solid pitching performance from sophomore Heather Sanborn, who gave up just six hits. She struck out five and walked one. “Heather gave it a battle,” Bladyka said. “We just didn’t support her enough.” The Springfield run in the first came when Rushton walked and came all the way around on the dropped fly ball. Both teams play again on Friday as Otter Valley comes to Brattleboro and Springfield goes to Fair Haven.