Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 10, 1993 TAG: 9306100029
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BY RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHLANDS LENGTH: Medium
Salem High School bombarded Richlands with a hard-to-beat salvo of overpowering pitching and cold-blooded aggression.
Although the Blue Tornadoes put up a scrap, the Spartans prevailed 5-1 on Wednesday in a state Group AA quarterfinal softball game at muggy Richlands Recreation Park.
The Spartans (21-4) will have plenty of time time to relax and gather their thoughts before they play a semifinal at home Tuesday against the Rustburg-Grundy winner.
Salem's Ronda Rankin was locked in a pitchers' duel with fellow freshman Latisha Steele of Richlands until the fourth inning, when the Tornadoes (17-4) broke though for their only run.
Leadoff batter Elisha Perkins reached on an error by second baseman Candy Munsey, stole second, then came around to score on a pair of groundouts. The lead didn't hold up long.
Salem started a two-out rally in the top of the fifth with Michelle Harrison's double. Harrison would have had an inside-the-park home run the ball not barely skidded through a gap in the left-field fence. Yo Helm then followed by reaching on a strikeout-wild pitch play as Harrison took third.
Then, on a wild pitch in the skimpy area of dirt between home plate and the backstop, Harrison hesitated and bolted for home.
"Pee Wee [Harrison] and Yo have the green light at bat and on the bases," Salem coach Shorty Wright said.
All Harrison saw was the tying run.
"The catcher seemed to drop the ball, so I decided to chance it," Harrison said.
Good decision. Tie score. Helm, on third now, took another calculated risk. As Steele and catcher Perkins were bemused between pitches to Munsey, Wright sent Helm to the plate.
"I had to say it three times," he said. "She thought I was kidding."
Not for long.
"The pitcher wasn't in the circle and the catcher was nowhere near the plate," Helm said.
The steal disturbed Richlands coach Rhonda Blevins, who thought Helms left too soon and should have been sent back to third.
"I don't know about that play," she said. "That really bothered our players. It hurt us."
Salem was up by a run, which left it up to Rankin, who was working on a no-hitter. That evaporated with Dana Stiltner's one-out triple in the sixth. In the key sequence of the game, Salem prevented the run from coming in when Rankin induced a fly ball to Harrison and a groundout to third baseman Dee Holiday.
"I made myself settle down and pitch well," Rankin said. "I was kind of lucky that they hit it to our players."
That wasn't all there was to it, Wright said.
"For a freshman, she takes the pressure just like a senior would," he said.
Salem broke though in the seventh with three runs on three hits. Munsey had an RBI single and Rankin ripped a two-out run-scoring triple that would have been a homer if the ball had not been misplayed in left field. Rankin scored on the error to make it a four-run game. She made that stand in the bottom of the seventh, giving up one hit. The runner was stranded at third.
Any ill will that may have been left from the controversial Salem-Richlands football game, when Richlands' players used illegal cleats, was not apparent. Good sportsmanship prevailed on both sides.
As Harrison and Helm were boarding the bus, one of the Richlands players drove by.
"Nice game, girls," she said with a smile. "Good luck the rest of the way."
See microfilm for box score.
by CNB