Kirkby's extra-inning walk off advances Hawkeyes

Cooperstown makes Section III Class C softball semifinals with 5-4 win over TI

(Savannah Kirkby celebrates her game-winning single for Cooperstown on Thursday. Photo by Greg Klein.)

SOFTBALL
Cooperstown 5, Thousand Islands 4, 9 innings

Senior Savannah Kirkby got to be the hero twice for Cooperstown on Thursday, May 26, plating a bottom-of-the-seventh game-tying run and a bottom-of-the-ninth walk-off run to send No. 3 Cooperstown to the Section III Class C semifinals with a 5-4 win over No. 6 Thousand Islands.

“What I like about this is we hit throughout the lineup,” Cooperstown Coach Buddy Lippitt told his team after the game. “The bottom of the lineup got it done for us early in the game and the top of the lineup did it for us at the end.

“That was a good pitcher we faced out there today and you guys hung with it,” he said.

Cooperstown (15-2) will play the Section III Class C semifinals Saturday, May 27, at No. 2 seeded Sandy Creek. The Comets (17-2) beat No. 7 Westmoreland, 11-4, on Thursday.

Senior Dani Seamon got the win for the Hawkeyes on Thursday, striking out 17 batters in nine innings, while allowing four runs on four hits and six walks.

Trailing 3-2 in the top of the seventh inning, the Vikings got a two-out rally, scoring two runs on a single, two walks, a passed ball and a single to take a 4-3 lead.

However, in the bottom of the inning, Seamon reached on fielder’s choice, stole second and scored on Kirkby’s single to center field to send the game into extra innings.

Seamon walked a batter to start the top of the ninth, but stranded her at third.

In the bottom of the inning, freshman Katie Crippen got a one-out double to left field, advanced on Seamon’s ground out to short and scored on Kirkby’s dribbler up the middle.

Cooperstown took a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Kirkby doubled and sophomore Brenna Seamon got hit by a pitch, with both scoring after sophomore Emmy Lippitt hit a single to center field, plus a fielding error. Lippitt scored on sophomore Grace Sperry’s single to right field.

Thousand Islands got two runs back in the fourth inning, on a single, walk, passed ball, single and fielder’s choice.

Kirkby ended up 3-for-5 with a double, two RBI and a run scored. She also helped the Hawkeyes defensively in the top of the fifth inning, starting an inning-ending 5-3-4 double play by catching a bloop bunt with two runners on and one out.

Delaney Wiley took the loss for Thousand Islands (14-3), striking out 13 batters, but giving up five runs on eight hits. Wiley also scored twice and Jasmine Randall had two hits for the Vikings.