The streak continued for Waubonsie Valley on Tuesday, though not all of the Warriors knew they were going for a 13th consecutive win.
“To be honest, I didn’t even know the winning streak was happening until I found out in the paper,” Warriors third baseman Melaina Koulos said. “It didn’t even feel like 12 wins.”
Waubonsie’s 4-1 win over host Neuqua Valley also kept the Warriors in hot pursuit of a third consecutive Upstate Eight Valley title.
The win didn’t come easy. Neuqua pitcher Megan Bilgri pitched a gem, striking out 11 and only giving up one hit heading into the eighth inning of a 1-1 tie.
That’s when Waubonsie’s Sabrina Calabrese walked and Neuqua committed an error, putting runners on second and third. Layne Thresh bunted to bring Calabrese home, and two batters later, Koulos’ RBI single scored Christina Pembrook.
Catcher Amanda Lack doubled in Koulos to make it 4-1 in favor of Waubonsie (20-5, 11-1), and Warriors pitcher Shannon Hohman ended a threat from Neuqua (12-10, 10-2) in the bottom of the eighth by striking out her sixth hitter to end the game.
“(Bilgri) is one of my best friends,” Koulos said. “I know she throws a first-pitch strike all the time and then goes right up to the high stuff. And her high stuff is good.”
Waubonsie coach Valerie Wood was impressed by Neuqua and Bilgri.
“That’s probably one of the lowest number of hits we’ve had in a game this year,” Wood said. “I thought (Hohman) was dominant and I thought (Bilgri) dominated, and we were happy to stick with them today.”
A roaring wind coming in from right field affected every ball hit in the air, and neither side managed a run until the sixth. Waubonsie capitalized on a Neuqua error that led to a sacrifice fly from Koulos that scored a run, and Neuqua got its run on a Jessie Boudreau sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning.
But to that point, neither Hohman (14-3) nor Bilgri (5-8) gave an inch.
“Megan had a great game today and that should have been our win,” Neuqua coach Melissa Wilson said. “We left runners on base and they had three unearned runs.
“I’m glad to have these games now instead of in the playoffs, but these are hard losses. Especially against Waubonsie. It’s such a good rivalry and they’re such a good team, so obviously our kids took this one pretty hard.”
