The tears afterward proved it wasn’t a fluke.
For the second time this season, Centreville went 10 innings against All-Examiner pitcher Jesse McCarrick and Oakton. But unlike like the teams’ first meeting two weeks ago, on Tuesday the underdogs couldn’t prevail and lost, 3-1.
“This is one of the first times that after the game, I could look into the girls’ eyes and they were truly upset,” said Centreville coach Rich Ferrick. “I truly believe that they thought, ‘Hey, we let this one slip away.’”
The first loss in four Concorde District games is a bump in the road for the upstart Wildcats (10-5, 6-4 district). But in many ways the result reinforced what Centreville itself is starting to believe — in the Northern Region’s toughest district, the Wildcats are legitimate contenders.
“Before when we lost we weren’t excited, we weren’t confident, we weren’t anything,” said sophomore pitcher Brianna Pease. “But the last couple of games we started to get on a roll, and we’re like, ‘Hey, we can win. We can do something.’ That’s why this is really hard.”
Without a star pitcher like McCarrick or Westfield’s Linda Pirro, or a big-time hitter like Robinson’s Dorian Shaw, the Wildcats are getting it done with error-free defense and teamwork.
Tuesday’s game provided multiple examples: two big throws for outs from junior shortstop Erin McKee in the seventh inning, a timely double-play by freshman third baseman Kirsten Sepulveda in the eighth and Pease’s run-saving tag at home plate after a bobble by freshman catcher Melissa Bowles in the ninth.
“When you look at our team, there’s really no one person. They all together make it work,” said Ferrick, whose daughter, freshman pitcher Jessica Ferrick, was expected to be a big part of the team’s plans. But after throwing her back out earlier in the season, Pease (6-3, 2.63 ERA) has taken over as the team’s sole pitcher.
“We did a clinic with them in January and I was surprised that they had two pitchers who could throw like that,” said Oakton coach Pat Purcell, who expects the Wildcats to make a strong run in the region tournament. “They’ve surprised me a little bit, but I’ve known Rich a long time, and he’s very good at teaching fundamentals. That’s going to win a lot of games in fastpitch softball.”
But Pease is done with surprises. In a district known for vaunted regional favorites, the Wildcats want to be part of the club, not just a spoiler.
“We want to be a powerhouse. We want to go out and have teams shivering in the dugout,” said Pease. “We want to be one of those powerhouses, and I really think we have a chance to do it this year.”
