St. Marys head coach Lacy Riggs high-fives Breanna Price after Price scored in the first inning of the Blue Devils’ 6-0 win over Petersburg on Thursday in a tournament elimination game W.Va. Class A State House in South Charleston, W.Va. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)
SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — St. Marys junior Breanna Price is reaping the benefits of previous experience at the state level in women’s basketball and softball.
Friday morning in a playoff game at the Class A state softball tournament, Price ignited the Blue Devil’s offense with the team’s first hit and run in a 6-0 victory over a Petersburg team that beat St. Marys twice in last year’s state tournament.
Price also started for the St. Marys women’s basketball team, making a repeat state tournament appearance before Petersburg as the sixth seed knocked out the Blue Devils in the first round.
St. Marys (30-5) advanced to the Championship Stage scheduled for later in the afternoon, needing to win twice against Wahama, who were 30-5 going into the game.
“Beating Petersburg is something we are very proud of,” The price said. “We knew we had to come in and knock. We were all very motivated and that helped us stay in the game. Awe put the bat on the ball and good things happened.
Seven of St. Marys’ starting nine contributed at least one hit to the nine-hit offense, including two each from Price on the 7th hole followed by Autumn Mossor in eighth.
Mossor, the daughter of St. Marys coach Lacy Riggs, played her first game in the state tournament. Mossor and Price both raced in a single run. Also in the bottom half of the standings, Baylee McGrady had a two-run home three-pointer in a four-run fifth inning that rounded out the Blue Devils’ scoreline.
Price, who has kicked off most of the season, was pushed back into the lineup to launch a St. Marys offense that cooled in the latter part of the season before this week until at the state tournament. .
“Our bats, we’ve had enough heat as long as we roll them”, said Riggs. “We made some changes. Autumn did not have a batting appearance in this tournament. Children adapt, do what they are supposed to do and get by.
“With girls like Breanna, it gives us versatile batter down the order. We are able to use his talent better there.
Price was also on the catch for a Petersburg baserunner caught stealing at second base.
“I myself went to the batter’s box thinking I would jump on the first pitch,” The price said. “Get a good shot on one you can handle and send it.
“This year, we didn’t have the nerves. Last year we didn’t know what to expect.
Cali Masters picked up the win after pitching six shutout innings with three hits allowed and 10 strikeouts. She struck out nine Vikings in the first four innings.
“Yeah, we saved a set and Ella came off the bench and was stellar there as well,” said Riggs. “It’s called teamwork.”
Coach Riggs saved an inning for the Masters in case St. Marys forced a second game against Wahama. Fellow southpaw Ella Smith, the only senior on the Blue Devils roster, needed just 12 pitches to put the team down in order in the top of the seventh inning.
Junior Sammy Colaw was defeated by Petersburg, who walked twice and struck out seven. The Vikings end the season at 26-10 after playing through a non-stop schedule with just 10 players in uniform.
“Honestly, I’m so thankful for an outstanding year,” St. Petersburg coach Bubba Hedrick said. “I feel blessed that we got here. We knew that we were very few and very young. We really scraped to have 10 kids this year. It was just an odd year for us.
“We knew everything we were getting here was icing on the cake. We actually played a few games this year when we only had nine. We were nervous all year, but we covered a lot of miles. We played a lot of matches. »
Petersburg, which was shut out in the last 12 innings of the tournament, graduated a senior in receiver Braylee Corbin.
“We kind of rode Colaw and Corbin all year,” said Hedrick. “They carried us a lot.”
Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com