Weber secured a 4-2 victory over their rival Fremont Tuesday afternoon. The win moved Weber within a half a game of Clearfield — who now leads Region 1 following Weber’s defeat of Fremont and its victory over Syracuse on Tuesday.
As Weber clung to a one-run lead over region-leading Fremont in the bottom of the sixth inning, with the tying run on third base, senior pitcher Brooke Merrill stepped up to look at what was arguably the biggest defensive at-bat the Warriors had faced all season.
Despite the significant implications that a potential miscue on her part could have, Merrill looked calm as ever as she tossed three strikes, ended the inning and closed the door on Fremont as it looked to even the game up.
The play typified what was a smothering performance from Merrill and the Warriors defense, as they secured a 4-2 victory over their rival Silverwolves Tuesday afternoon. The win moved Weber within a half a game of Clearfield — who now leads Region 1 following Weber’s defeat of Fremont and its victory over Syracuse on Tuesday.
Merrill didn’t just take on the appearance of being calm as she delivered the strikeout that helped the Warriors get the win, but she felt calm too.
“In those situations, the key for me is staying calm and relaxed because I throw my best when I’m relaxed,” Merrill said of the play, while also adding that she approaches the game in a relaxing manner. “I go into these games knowing I have to be really competitive, and for me that means being relaxed and doing my job. I’ve just got to do my job.”
Merrill followed up the big pitches to end the sixth inning with a double to start the seventh, which paved the way for a pinch-runner to score in her stead off of a Abbie Barker RBI. The play gave the Warriors a two run lead.
The two-score lead was too much for Fremont to overcome, as it went scoreless in the final inning. The inning was Fremont’s sixth scoreless inning in a row.
Weber head coach Melinda Wade affirmed after the game that Merrill did her job and then some as she played an important role in limiting Fremont — who had scored 119 runs in 14 outings coming into the game — to just two runs the whole contest. Wade added that Merrill had been performing that way all season long.
“She was just tough as nails today and, really, she always is,” Wade said. “She’s so consistent and she just puts the team on her back. She came up with some big strikeouts today against Fremont, who’s a hitting team that hits the ball so well. I’m just so pleased with her.”
The two runs scored by Fremont were the result of an error made by Weber in the first inning, which foreshadowed what would end up being a prevailing theme throughout the game as both teams continued to commit miscues. Weber finished with four errors and Fremont committed six errors.
Three of the four runs scored by Weber were also the result of the errors made by Fremont.
Wade said that the copious amount of errors were “uncharacteristic” for both teams.
“I don’t know if it was just the rivalry, the nerves or the importance of the game,” Wade said while thinking out loud about the reasoning for there being so many errors committed. “I mean, we have to remind ourselves that these players are still kids. But I was pleased with our girls and how they didn’t let it spiral out of control.”
After giving up the two runs in the opening inning to Fremont, Wade said that her team displayed their growth with the way they responded to the challenge.
“Sometimes, in the past, when we’ve been pushed, we’ve kind of folded,” Wade said. “But today, I didn’t feel like we folded. We kept pushing back and pushing back. Our resiliency today really was our greatest strength.”
The win means a lot for a Weber side that’s aiming to come out of Region 1 on top for the first time since 2012.
“We needed this win if we want to even have a chance of taking the region, so it’s a really big win and it was good for us to come in and battle against them,” Merrill said.
Going forward, Coach Wade said that the Warriors aren’t going to be staring at the standings, but rather they will be focusing on themselves and their performances despite the goal to win the region.
“Every win is important and we try to be at our best every game we play,” Wade said. “We try not to focus on who we’re playing or the standings, but our focus is on us, our effort and on making improvements each and every game. So yeah, this game was important, but they’re all important.”
from Deseret News https://ift.tt/2Pzq60M
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