AAAA Region 3, Section 2 Softball: Woodrow Wilson tops Oak Hill in dramatic fashion

The old adage is sports says, it's not over until it's over.

That is never more true than in the postseason.

Down to its last out and down two runs, Woodrow Wilson scored three times to cap of a wild, 10-9 comeback win over Oak Hill Tuesday in the opening game of the Class AAAA Region 3, Section 2 softball tournament in Beckley.

The Flying Eagles trailed by as many as six runs midway through the game.

"That is kind of how I drew it up," Woodrow Wilson head coach J.R. Bird said, playfully. "The resilience of this team was great. We made a lot of mistakes early in the game and got ourselves in a hole. We did fight our way out of there. Sometimes a game like this can give you a shove in the right direction."

Entering the bottom of the seventh inning, Woodrow Wilson trailed 9-7.

Down no balls and two strikes, Mia Seiter worked a lead-off walk to give the Flying Eagles hope.

The glimmer of hope started to fade when a line drive by Marley Stoneback was snagged by second baseman Baylee Hildebrand for the first out.

Hadley Reott then stepped to the plate and hit another solid line drive, but the ball was right at shortstop Sadie Branch who appeared would make the game ending double play on Seiter at first base.

However, the throw could not be handled, allowing Seiter to move to second base on the loose ball.

The missed opportunity proved fatal for Oak Hill (12-13).

Shailee Sexton ripped a double to the right center gap scoring Seiter, renewing the comeback dream for the Flying Eagles.

Aubrey Smallwood was intentionally walked, bringing Kacie Fraley to the plate. After missing most of the season with a shoulder injury, Fraley delivered the biggest hit of the season to date for Woodrow Wilson.

The junior catcher hit a hard ground ball up the middle scoring Sexton to tie the game. When the throw into the infield was not handled, Smallwood made a heads up move, advancing to third base.

"There was some clutch hitting tonight" Bird said. There has been some times this year when we haven't got that clutch hit when we needed it. Tonight, we got just enough hits."

Smallwood scored on the next pitch, which was a passed ball, capping the dramatic comeback win. Going to the bottom of the fourth inning, the Flying Eagles trailed, 8-2.

"That is a tough loss. We should have won that one," Oak Hill head coach Amanda Hildebrand said. "It was just some simple little things that hurt us in the end. It was a pop fly that should been caught and we had the double play for the final play (of the game). Every play counts when we play them. Each time we get better, but it's tough to have been winning the entire game."

Fraley and Smallwood each had three RBI, while Amy Hollandsworth and Ava Pomeroy both had two RBI for Oak Hill.

Woodrow Wilson (12-13) travels to No. 1 seed Riverside Wednesday. Oak Hill awaits the loser of the contest Thursday in an elimination game.