Staff photo / Joel Whetzel
Howland starter Alexia Spangler fires a pitch during the first inning of the Tigers’ 17-15 extra innings loss at West Branch on Friday.
BELOIT — For the second day in a row, Howland found itself in a massive deficit early.
And for the second day in a row, the Tigers mounted a furious rally, only to come out with a loss in the end.
Trailing West Branch by 10 runs after two innings Friday, Howland outscored the Warriors 15-5 over the next five innings to force extras, only to be dealt a loss on a walk-off, two-run home run by Skyler Greeneisen in the bottom of the eighth.
On Thursday, the Tigers had trailed Ursuline 9-0 early on before ultimately falling 13-7.
Still, head coach Nicole Wayt is encouraged by what she sees.
“I’m so proud of our girls,” she said. “We (coaches) have been waiting all season for (the players) to dig down and show us. We knew they had this in the beginning of the season; we’ve just been waiting for them to show us what they had. They showed us that today.”
West Branch (11-3) had raced out to a 10-0 lead through the first two innings, hanging four runs on Howland starter Alexia Spangler in the first inning and six on reliever Brooke Tatar in the second. But the Tigers (9-5) roared back, plating seven runs in the third and six in the sixth in addition to a run each in the fourth and seventh innings.
Ryley Pittman, who pitched in relief for West Branch beginning in the third inning, worked a three-up, three-down top of the eighth. She then logged a one-out single to set up Greeneisen’s homer a batter later.
Greeneisen blasted a 1-0 pitch over the centerfield fence.
“I was just looking for that perfect pitch to just get on base,” explained Greeneisen, who went 4-for-5 with three RBIs and a pair of doubles. “I wasn’t even looking for a bomb or anything. We were coming out hot (in the eighth inning), and I wanted to keep it going. That’s all I was really looking for.”
Pittman finished 5-for-6 with four RBIs and a pair of doubles, while Tori McKay and Addie Craven each notched three RBIs on three and two hits, respectively. Both of them doubled.
Still, Howland had answers of its own offensively. The Tigers racked up 16 hits, led by four from Madison Hufford. She, Alyssa Massucci, Tatar and Kayla Cambell each plated two RBIs, and the latter three each had a pair of hits. Hufford and Cloe Lopez doubled twice.
“I think (our players) started watching the ball and started being a little more patient,” Wayt said of Howland’s offensive revival after the first two innings. “They dug down and just really wanted this game.”
Both teams were forced to get away from their original plan in the circle. Wayt said the Tigers were planning to alternate between Tatar and Spangler, while Woods noted the Warriors weren’t planning to have Pittman in the circle in the first place.
“We knew they (West Branch is) a powerhouse hitting team,” Wayt said. “We scrimmaged them, so we knew they’re a strong team. We played them last year, so our plan was to try and go back and forth between our pitchers to throw them off a little bit. But, we got into a groove, we dug down and it seemed like we were throwing them off a little bit, so we stayed with what we were doing.”
Indeed, after giving up the six runs in the second, Tatar settled down and finished the game with 6.1 innings of work. She allowed 13 runs — only five of which were earned — on 16 hits and four walks. She struck out seven.
The Warriors, meanwhile, started with McKay, who worked 2.2 innings before Howland mounted its seven-run rally in the third. Pittman closed the game out with 5.1 innings of work, surrendering eight runs — seven earned — on nine hits and three walks. She fanned three.
“We really didn’t want to pitch Ryley today. She pitched yesterday and threw 130-some pitches,” Woods said. “But she came in and did a decent job. (Howland) hit her, too. They came out and they hit, we made a couple mistakes that they took advantage of. But we didn’t quit, and that’s one thing this team hasn’t done all year.”
With the regular season beginning to wind down, Wayt has her eye on the postseason, and hopes Friday can be a building block come tournament time.
“We said win or lose — obviously we were hoping for the win — but this is the game we’ve been waiting for, for them to show us the skill and the effort we know they have,” Wayt said of her players. “We’re excited for next week. We play every night next week, and then going into tournaments we’re really excited.”
jwhetzel@tribtoday.com
