Softball: Waubonsie Valley holds off Metea Valley

Updated: May 3, 2012 7:23PM

Waubonsie Valley softball coach Alyson Kelley joked that she would love to start every game with the bases loaded and her team batting.

That was the scenario the Warriors found themselves in against rival Metea Valley in Upstate Eight Valley play Thursday. The game was postponed in the bottom of the first inning due to rain on Tuesday and the teams picked it up from there.

As it turned out, Waubonsie needed every bit of its first-inning advantage.

The Warriors held a 4-1 lead over the two-day first inning, and pushed the lead to 8-1 before holding on for an 8-5 win.

“I wish we could start like that all the time,” Kelley said. “(Allowing Metea to come back) has been one of our biggest downfalls, every game. We have to get tough. We’re too dainty. We know they’re girls, but you know what, you have to start being tough. Too many highs and lows.”

Amanda Minahan belted a two-run home run Tuesday to help Waubonsie (17-6, 9-3) carry a 3-1 lead with the bases loaded in the bottom of the first into Thursday’s continuation. The Warriors tacked on one more run that inning. They also scored single runs in the third and fifth innings and two in the fourth as Amanda Lack doubled in a run and scored to make it 8-1.

“It’s nice to have that little cushion,” Waubonsie freshman pitcher Shannon Hohman (13-4) said. “We got our momentum going right from the beginning. I’m glad that we didn’t stop there and we kept going and pushing those runs through.”

But Metea Valley (10-9, 7-6) did not go away quietly. The Mustangs scored four runs in the sixth inning thanks to three hits, an error, a walk and a hit batsman. That cut the lead to 8-5. But the Mustangs were unable to capitalize on a Kim Baker double in the seventh and Hohman got out of it for the win.

“I think we came out a little flat,” Metea coach Kris Kalivas said. “I don’t know if it was because it was continued from the other day or what. We lost that game on the defensive end today. We had some routine plays that we didn’t capitalize on. Those are plays we have to make against a good team.”

The game was the third of three legs of the Strike Out Cancer fundraiser the three Indian Prairie schools participated in this week. Each school raised money for a different charity. Metea played for Ovarian Cancer, Waubonsie represented the National Breast Cancer Foundation and Neuqua Valley raised funds for the American Cancer Society.

“Not only are we trying to win games, but we’re teaching them to be positive community role models, to give back to the community,” Kelley said.

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