With Justin Bieber Singing in Her Head, Demmett Knocks in Winning Run as Kennedy Clips Calhoun

You can always expect a good game when crosstown rivals Calhoun and Kennedy square off.  And neither side disappointed yesterday as the Lady Colts and Lady Cougars took to the softball field at Kennedy High School.

The Cougars jumped out to an early 5-0 lead behind home runs by Carly Thea and Brittany Venezia, but the Colts stormed back with five runs of their own to tie the game.

The game had to be decided in extra innings, when third baseman Jamie Demmett hit one over the center fielder's head to score Gabbi Calia and win the game for Kennedy, 6-5.

"Our team has great perseverance," Kennedy coach Katie Speiss said. "We keep pushing and we come out with the Ws and that's what we need to keep doing. We hit really well in the beginning, and when things got a little shaky we stepped it up on defense."

The Cougars (4-1) got things going early when Thea hit a leadoff single off Calhoun pitcher Jessica Livingston. After stealing second, she scored on a single by Heather Hulkower. Venezia then smacked an RBI triple to put the Cougars in front, 2-0.

Kennedy extended its lead in the fourth inning. After Steph Bauman hit a double, Venezia slammed a two-run home run over the head of right fielder Rebecca Suss to put her team up 4-0.

The triple gave Venezia her second and third RBIs of the game.

"When we keep our head in the game and stay focused," Venezia said. "Anything can happen. The game went to extras, but we hung in there and got the win."

Thea, who had four hits on the day, hit a home run of her own in the fifth inning. That gave the Cougars a commanding 5-0 lead. However, that's when the Colts (1-5) began their comeback.

Kennedy pitcher Gabby Calia held the Colts scoreless through the first four innings, but she began to lose sight of the strike zone in the fifth.  Calia walked six batters in the inning, as Marissa Marcigliano, Danielle Losee, Livingston, Ashley Lowerre, Gianna Saladino and Lauren Lucke all drew walks, with the latter three driving in runs.  

The Colts scored two more runs in the fifth in a more conventional fashion, when Livingston hit a two-run single to tie the game, 5-5.

"Our team battled back really well," Livingston said. "Unlike other games we showed a lot of spirit in this game and we were able to tie it. But errors are still killing us and that is really what lost the game for us today."

Midway through the sixth, Speiss removed Calia as pitcher and replaced her with Sam Finkel.

After a scoreless seventh, the Cougars got a two-out single from Calia in the eighth. The next batter was Demmett, who hit a ball just out of the reach of the centerfielder's glove, and Calia would come around to score from first to end the game.

Demmett, the game's hero, had an interesting strategy to keep herself calm while at the plate.

"I was singing Justin Bieber in my head," Demmett said of the teen pop superstar.  

The Colts were plagued by a couple errors made by their outfielders, and coach Jason Boland insisted that was something that needed to be addressed.

"I'm proud of my team for coming back," Boland said. "It really showed their character. But our outfield defense wasn't there when we needed it to be. Hopefully we can come back tomorrow and play JFK hard like we did today and get the win."

The two teams will face each other again this afternoon at 4:30 p.m. at Calhoun in what is sure to be another exciting game.