Lady Trojans advance to BRD final, edged 3-2 by Poquoson

Entering the Bay Rivers District softball tournament, New Kent’s sixth-seeded Lady Trojans drew little concern from opponents. But they upset third-seeded York 7-0 in the quarterfinals and stunned number two Grafton by a 2-0 count in the semis.

That earned New Kent a berth in the May 27 final at York High against regular season champion Poquoson (20-2) and a chance with a win to move on to the Region I tourney. Heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, the Lady Trojans owned a 2-1 advantage, but the top-seeded Islanders tied the affair and produced the deciding run in the seventh and final frame to escape with a 3-2 victory.

“At least we ended better than we started,” New Kent coach Betsey Lane said after her team’s season closed at 11-10.

“We played a great game against a quality opponent that is probably the best in the state and has a couple of Division 1 players,” she said. “We hung in there with them, and I’m proud of what my girls accomplished.”

The game quickly became a pitching duel between a pair of first team all-district hurlers — New Kent’s Renee Silver and Poquoson’s Maggie Tyler. Through 3½ innings, Silver struck out four and gave up just two hits while Tyler fanned seven and issued three hits.

But in the bottom of the fourth, Poquoson broke the scoreless deadlock. Nicole Windham led off with a single and reached third with two away. Brooke Sarrazin then drilled a hot shot off the glove of shortstop Maria Bates to create a 1-0 lead.

New Kent, however, answered in the sixth after Bates led off with the sixth hit off Tyler, a single between shortstop and third. Rachel Baldwin bunted Bates to second before a throwing error on a ball stroked by Sarah Carter enabled Bates to tie the game. Nikki Jones singled just inside the left field line to put runners at first and second. Then with two away, Kristin Colegrove bounced a RBI single over the bag at third to drive in Carter for a 2-1 lead.

But Poquoson evened the affair in the bottom of the frame after Windham led off with a walk. A pair of sacrifice bunts moved her to third from where she scored on a passed ball.

Leading off the Islander seventh, Shannon Rollins punched a grounder down the third base line that Baldwin, charging in from third, could not handle. Then on Taylor Howell’s bunt, Baldwin threw high to first for another error that placed runners at the corners. The next batter, Amy Putman, dropped a walk-off single into shallow right field.