Chesapeake Stays Undefeated, Knocks Off Northeast In Extras

By Colin Murphy

The girls at Chesapeake just keep on winning.

A week after cracking the top 15 of MaxPreps.com’s national high school softball rankings, the Cougar softball team kept its undefeated season in tact with a thrilling, 3-2, extra-inning, come-from-behind victory against visiting rival Northeast on May 6. As has been the case many times throughout the season, senior Megan Hyson led the way for Chesapeake, pitching eight strong innings and delivering a walk-off RBI to lead the Cougars to their 17th consecutive victory and solidify a #1 seed and first round bye in the state tournament.

“Everything has seemed to fall into place this year,” said Hyson after the game. “We have really good team chemistry, and I think that’s what makes us a great team.”

The Cougars jumped out to an early lead on a first-inning solo home run by Hyson, and it seemed, albeit briefly, as though the outcome was a foregone conclusion. But while the Cougars have not lost a game all season, it hasn’t always come easy, and a fired-up Northeast squad gave the Chesapeake girls everything they could handle on this day. Northeast freshman starting pitcher Brooke Steinbach pitched the entire contest for the Eagles, allowing only one earned run over eight outstanding innings against an imposing Chesapeake lineup. After allowing the home run to Hyson in the first, Steinbach settled into a rhythm, striking out three and allowing only three hits over the next seven innings.

The Northeast batters supported Steinbach with a strong showing against the power-pitching Hyson, who allowed two runs despite striking out a jaw-dropping 18 Northeast batters on the day. After a Chesapeake error allowed two Northeast base-runners to remain safe in the third, sophomore Taylor Dittmar connected on an 0-2 pitch from Hyson, knocking in two runs to give Northeast a 2-1 lead. Steinbach’s efforts on the mound kept Chesapeake off the board for the next three innings, and a nervous gallery of family and friends from both schools patiently watched to see if this would be the day that Chesapeake would finally lose.

“Northeast had us on the ropes, and I thought we might be done,” said Chesapeake Head Coach Don Ellenberger after the game. “But the girls proved they can rise to the occasion, and they took care of business.”

Taking care of business required a scrappy, get-what-you-can effort from the Cougars. Hyson reached base on a Northeast error to lead off the bottom of the sixth, later scoring on a single by catcher Gabby Couture to tie the game at 2-2. Northeast got out of the inning with the score still tied, then threatened to regain the lead in the top of the seventh. With two outs, Brittany MacGee singled and stole second base, carrying the go-ahead run. Northeast’s next batter, sophomore Selina Matulonis, belted what initially looked like a tiebreaking hit, only to be robbed of the RBI by a sensational, inning-ending diving catch by Chesapeake freshman centerfielder Danielle Myers.

Refusing to go down in the bottom of the seventh, Northeast returned the favor by retiring the third Chesapeake batter on an equally dazzling diving catch by centerfielder junior Keirstin Henderson, sending the game into extra innings.

When Northeast failed to plate a runner in the top of the eighth, Hyson had her chance to play hero in the bottom half of the inning, and she took full advantage. With a runner on second, Hyson smoked a rocket to the left side of the infield, and a Northeast error on the hard grounder allowed Kirby to cross the plate, giving the Lady Cougars the 3-2 walk-off victory.

“I don’t know how they keep doing it, I just hope they keep doing it,” said Coach Ellenberger of his team’s uncanny ability to come up with the big hits and big defensive plays at key moments in every game.

Of his team’s chances at winning the state title, Ellenberger has no reason not to be fully confident in his players. “I believe in the team, there’s no doubt about that. They believe in each other, they’ve got that will, and they’ve got that ability to do it,” he concluded.

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