The greatest run ever for a Henderson-Vance All-Star team came to an end today when the 12-and-under softball team lost 7-0 to Chesterton, Ind., at the Babe Ruth World Series in Cherry Hill, N.J.
Playing their eighth game in a week, the Henderson-Vance girls seemed to run out of gas. The team’s strengths — strong pitching, clutch hitting, speed and solid defense — were largely absent this afternoon.
Allison Perry’s leadoff single in the third inning was the only hit Henderson-Vance managed against Chesterton’s Taylor Harlow, who also allowed five walks.
After running some teams off the field earlier in the tournament, Henderson-Vance had no stolen bases and failed to pressure the Indiana team into any wild pitches or passed balls.
Meanwhile, Jessica Rowland wasn’t the dominant pitcher she had been for much of the tournament, including three days earlier when she held Chesterton hitless over three innings in a pool-play game. In three innings today, she gave up three hits, two walks and two wild pitches and had four strikeouts.
Still, Rowland’s gutsy performance might have kept Henderson-Vance in the game if the team hadn’t committed five errors. Five of the six runs Rowland allowed were unearned, as was the one run Jordan Garrett gave up during her two innings of relief.
Chesterton beat Stamford, Conn., 4-0 later in the day to advance to Saturday’s championship against undefeated Sparta, N.J.
While the afternoon loss was disappointing, Henderson-Vance still finished fourth in the nation and compiled a 5-3 record at the World Series. The team’s exploits included a second-place finish in the state tournament, a second-place finish in the five-team National Division at the World Series and the Southeast championship.