Softball: Hickory wins state championship

CHANTILLY

A well-conditioned Hickory softball team overcame intense heat, both from the weather and a scrappy Battlefield opponent to win the first state title in the Chesapeake school's history Saturday at Westfield High.

Pitching ace Jennfier Giandek's scoreless and hitless inning streaks ended at 43 and 18, respectively, but the gritty senior persevered for a 4-2 victory. It her 23rd and the Hawks 27th against one loss.

"Battlefield was the best hitting team I've faced and the heat made it even more difficult, but my changeup and drop got me through," said a tearful Gniadek, who will pitch for Florida International next year. " I still felt strong in the seventh inning.

"There was no turning point in this season, we wanted this title from the start and worked incredibly hard to get it. It's an amazing feeling."

Hickory's run included an unbeaten Southeastern District regular season, second place in the district tournament after its lone loss to Western Branch and the Eastern Region championship.

Brittany Black, Battlefield's previously unbeaten pitcher, fell victim to the 90-plus temperatures and humdidity in the second inning. She removed herself from the game after Rachel West's single had given the Hawks a 2-0 lead. Black had yielded a first-inning run on two walks and two hit batters.

"I really felt sick and couldn't catch my breath," said Black, who left the playing area to be attended by on-site medical personnel. She returned to the field for post game ceremonies. "They told me I had too much water to drink and should have had some Gatorade instead.

"It was a tough experience, but one I'll learn from. With only two seniors on this team, we have a good chance to return next year."

The Northwest Region champion Bobcats from Haymarket finished 25-4.

Gniadek, also Hickory's most productive hitter, provided the champions' final run, on a 210-foot shot over the fence in left-centerfield, leading off the fifth inning. It was the Florida International recruit's fifth home run and her 24th run batted in.

"It was a low-middle fastball," Gniadek said of the blast off reliever Megan Sutphin "I thought it had a good chance to get out."

The Bobcats got their ininital run in the third inning. Gniadek hit Jessica Anglin with a pitch. Bailey Liddle and Kaitlyn Sileo followed with singles, loading the bases. Courtney Liddle cut the deficit to 2-1 on a sacrifice fly.

Hickory answered with its third run in the bottom of the inning. Emily Ambrous doubled in the left-centerfield gap, scoring courtesy runner Shayna Herbst.

Battlefield, in its fourth year of existence, scored on the game's final play. Shannon Cleary delivered a run-scoring single, but baserunner Katie Sutphin was retired trying to reach third base.

Hickory third baseman Jaclyn Quinn made the tag and rushed to join the mob of teammates swarming Gniadek in the pitcher's circle.

"We knew when seven of these seniors were freshmen that this was going to be a special bunch before they were through," Hickory coach Ryan Wieck said. "Not only do they have superior talent, but we have about a dozen 4.0 students as well.

"As for this game, I felt with the intense heat conditioning could be a decisive factor. Jenn was in the best condition of her life this year, and it showed over and over."

Ironically it was Black, who only batted one time, that sliced a single to left leading off the second inning to end Gniadek's run of 18 hitless innings. The effort included consecutive no-hitters in the quarterfinals and semifinals.

"Battlefield hit Jenn better than anybody had this season, but she stayed strong and the defense backed her well," Appalachian State-bound Hickory catcher Michelle Lighton said."Then she hits a home run to top it off. This is a once in a lifetime feeling and I've really going to miss this bunch."

See a Photo Gallery from the game