Thanks to a couple of sixth-inning scoring onslaughts, there were split winners the night of March 31 when the Wakefield Warriors hosted the Yorktown Patriots in all-Arlington baseball and girls softball high-school varsity action.
In softball, Wakefield (4-1) scored five runs on four hits in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie and defeat the Yorktown Patriots, 6-1, to improve to 2-1 in the Liberty District. Olivia Henry had the big hit with a three-run double to left center.
M.J. Patil, Livy Fried and Elena Rochard each had RBI hits in that inning, and Abby Kohan added a sacrifice fly.
In all, Wakefield had 11 hits. Henry had three and Patil and Fried added two each.
On the mound for Wakefield, Abby Kohan threw a complete- game four hitter. She struck out seven, walked two and the run was unearned.
For Yorktown, Molly Kaufman doubled.
The Patriots fell to 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the league.
In a preceding non-district game, Wakefield topped the visiting Edison Eagles, 5-3, as Kohan pitched a six-hitter with 13 strikeouts and no walks. She allowed on earned run.
Fried and Kaya Demarco each had two hits. Henry and Kohan had a hit and an RBI each and Patil stole two bases.
The Warriors have three games scheduled this week, including one against Arlington rival and defending 6D North Region champion Washington-Liberty on the road.
In baseball, Yorktown (3-3, 2-2) scored seven runs in the top of the sixth inning to rally from a 5-2 deficit to defeat Wakefield (1-5, 0-3) by a 10-5 score.
“We finally got the bats going and started getting hits to fall,” Yorktown coach John Skaggs. “Before that, we were hitting, but line drives right at them.”
Yorktown had 12 hits, with Jack Rucker having three and Ryan Powers (two RBI) and Issac Hobbs (two doubles) two each. Kyle Langley doubled, had two RBI and two stolen bases; Trevor McAndrews had a hit, one RBI and two steals; and J.J. Foti doubled and had two RBI.
Rucker was the winning pitcher in relief. The left-hander worked 31/3 innings, not allowing an earned run, giving up four hits, striking out four, walking one and throwing 59 pitches.
“Jack had good control and threw strikes well,” Skaggs said. “He did what we needed him to do.”
For Wakefield, Wade Bringham and Mason Bull each had two hits and Michael Duncan doubled. Including Bringham and Bull, who each fanned five, three Wakefield pitchers combined to strike out 11.
In its previous game, a 7-5 home loss to the McLean Highlanders, Yorktown’s bats awakened late, as well. The Patriots scored three runs in the sixth inning, then two in the seventh and had the tying runners on base. McAndrews had a hit and two RBI, Rucker and Bradley Labant doubled, and Mateo Cardinale added a hit and an RBI.
* Jack O’Connor was the starting and winning pitcher in six innings of work with 12 strikeouts and he had two hits with the bat, including a double, to help the visiting Bishop O’Connell Knights defeat Gonzaga, 8-4, in a Washington Catholic Athletic Conference game. O’Connor did not walk a batter and allowed eight hits.
Carson Mayfield threw the final inning and fanned three, and added two hits.
O’Connell’s Bobby McDonough had three hits and three RBI with two steals. Peyton Kijek had a hit and two RBI, and Michael Lavanga had a hit and one RBI. The Knights had 12 hits.
* In a girls softball game between top Washington Catholic Athletic Conference rivals, the Bishop O’Connell Knights amassed 26 hits to defeat St. Mary’s Ryken, 14-4, in five innings.
Sara Rollins homered and had four hits for O’Connell. With three hits each were Katie Kutz (triple), Alyssa Dichard, Ari Clark, Sasa Groome, Sofia Anderson and Sophia Taliaferro. Abby Bond and Bri Lenz each had two hits.
Kutz threw a two-hitter and fanned 13, as the Knights stayed undefeated at 6-0.
* In the Washington-Liberty Generals’ 10-0 loss to the Marshall Statesmen, Luke Harnishfeger doubled for one of the team’s three hits.