Watkins Mill Softball Overcomes Miscues in Playoff Win

It wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but Watkins Mill softball showed some grit in scratching out a first-round playoff win Friday against Frederick High School.

After building a 4-0 lead over the 1-15 Commodores, Watkins Mill saw their bats go cold, their pitching go awry and errors start to pile up.

"Usually when we start hitting, we hit together. When we don’t hit, none of us hit," said Maria Sanchez, Watkins Mill’s ace pitcher.

Freshman Jennifer Valdez started on the mound Friday to give Sanchez’s ailing left arm a rest. After blanking the Commodores through the first three innings, Valdez lost control over her pitches. Frederick closed to 4-3 in the 4th inning then tied the game in the next frame on an outfield error.

By the 6th inning, Watkins Mill was down 5-4. Enter Sanchez, her wrist, forearm and elbow hurting bad enough that she struggled to hold a bat. But she pushed through the pain and kept Frederick off the score sheet in the final two frames.

Then the Wolverines’ bats came to life. When Madelyn Niffenegger tripled in the 5th inning, Sanchez drove her home with a single. Jenny Wright’s sacrifice fly scored Sanchez, and in the 6th inning, Nathaly Villalobos scored on a Karen Rius triple.

For Frederick's final at-bat, Sanchez had enough in that left arm to get out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam.

"She certainly didn’t pitch her best, and I didn’t want her to pitch any harder than she needed to," said Coach Jody Tyler. "But there’s a lot of confidence there because Maria wants to win and is going to do everything she needs to do. When she’s on her game, she will lead the team well."

The win puts the 9-7 Wolverines—the No. 5-seed in the 3A West—into today’s second-round game against No. 4-seed Seneca Valley, who beat Clarksburg 4-0 in their playoff opener.

Sanchez is going to give her arm a go against a Screamin’ Eagles lineup that peppered her to the tune of 17-3 in their earlier go-around last month.

"No other choice," she said with a smile after Friday’s game. "Payback."

The game starts at 2:30 at Seneca Valley High School, 19401 Crystal Rock Drive in Germantown.