BFA-Fairfax trips up Cosmos in D2 quarters

Friday's clash between last year's VPA Division 2 finalists was nothing short of a thriller. The defending state champion Bullets would pick up a run with some help from the Cosmos in the fifth. In the sixth, BFA would finally get things clicking, turning a 3-0 deficit into a deadlock.

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2016-06-04 / Sports BFA-Fairfax trips up Cosmos in D2 quarters «» View full-size Springfield second baseman Lina Geyer fields a ground ball during Friday's game. — TIM TAYLOR http://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/SprSB-Willey.jpghttp://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/SprSB-Geyer.jpghttp://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/SprSB-Crosby_0.jpghttp://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/SprSB-Polidor.jpghttp://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/SprSB-Twombly.jpg By TIM TAYLOR sports@eagletimes.com SPRINGFIELD — Friday's clash between last year's VPA Division 2 finalists was nothing short of a thriller. Unfortunately for Springfield fans their Cosmos came out on the short side of a nine-inning 5-3 thriller against BFA-Fairfax. The defending state champion Bullets would pick up a run with some help from the Cosmos in the fifth. In the sixth, BFA would finally get things clicking, turning a 3-0 deficit into a deadlock. They had a little help along the way — plunking a couple of balls down in the infield that would spin in the dirt and give them time to reach base before a Cosmos player could reach it. Then, the Bullets would put Springfield's backs against the wall with a pair of runs in the top of the ninth. “This Fairfax team is in the thick of it every year there and there's no shame in losing to them,” said Springfield coach Andy Bladyka. Julia Stergas, who had struck out in three previous at-bats, laid down a bunt and reached base on a throwing error. Sam King would follow with a walk and both runners would move up on a passed ball. With two away, Megan Domina dropped down a bunt that catchers Cassidy Otis retrieved, but held to keep Stergas from scoring. With the bases loaded, BFA got an RBI single from lead-off hitter Kaitlyn Barnack and a run-scoring walk from Chloe White to take the two-run lead. “We can be pretty talented when we put it together,” said BFA coach Geri Witalec. In the bottom of the ninth the Cosmos' Brooke Willey would lead off with a walk, but reserve pitcher Bridget Hamel continued to stymie the home team, as she had been doing since stepping into the circle in the fourth. She struck out the next batter, then made a shoestring catch of a ball off the bat of Lina Geyer. Willey's initial move toward second base was just enough for Hamel to get the throw over to first for a game-ending double play. At the game's onset, Springfield looked like it might be able to hold up its No. 3 seed as Cosmos ace Jade Twombly retired the first 12 Bullets, eight by strikeout. And the offense was doing its part to support her. An initial strikeout was overturned when the base umpire ruled an illegal pitch, giving Willey another opportunity. She worked a walk and advanced to third on Calista Polidor's sacrifice bunt and a Geyer single. Otis grounded out to bring Willey home and Geyer scored on a throwing error on a ball off the bat of Twombley. The Cosmos would get back on the scoreboard in the third when Geyer led off with an infield single and scored when Otis hit a rope into the left-center field gap for an RBI double. That's when Witalec elected to pull starting pitcher Trono and go with Hamel. It proved to be a wise decision. Hamel allowed just six base runners over the final six innings. Three times it was Willey, all with walks, while Twombly, Jasinski and Otis had base hits in the fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively. “Bridget Hamel is amazing,” Witalec said. “She's a freshman, started out on JV this year and has worked her way up this year. She has served as a closer … the last third of the season. It's just a 1-2 punch combo. Gianna [Trono]does an amazing job mowing down batters and once they start getting their timing down Bridget comes in with her drop-ball sort of pitch and people struggle to hit it.” The Bullets finally made a dent in the scoreboard in the fifth when Trono ripped a line drive down the left field line. The ball scooted past the left fielder and Trono just kept running, scoring when the throw home got past the catcher. In the sixth, Melanie Galley doubled down the left field line and Barnack dropped a single in behind the pitcher with the ball spinning in the dirt to allow her to reach safely. White's sac bunt scored courtesy runner Emily Horton and Brooke Hamel's single that fell behind second base, another spinner, plated Barnack to tie the game. “They had a couple spinners in the dirt. It was just balls that sit there in the dirt and here's nothing we can do,” Bladyka said. “That's what got them back in the game. The loss closed out Springfield's season at 14-4 and overshadowed an otherwise impressive performance by Twombly in the circle. The senior struck out 15 batters and scattered seven hits while walking three. “I thought Jade was hitting the inside corner and we just weren't getting the call. We had to go outside because we weren't getting the call and that didn't help,” Bladyka said. “Fairfax, they executed, they were getting the bunts down and they came back and earned it. A tip of the hat to them, they executed and they had better luck than we did today.” Geyer and Otis had two hits apiece for the Cosmos, and Twombly, Jasinski and Ari Rowe added one apiece. Willey contributed four walks.