NEWARK – In a see-saw game full of big plays, Haley Grygo struck the biggest blow.
The sophomore rocked a triple with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning to score courtesy runner Olivia Rexrode with the go-ahead run as Caravel won its 12th DIAA Softball Tournament championship on Sunday, 8-7 over Sussex Central.
“She’s been coming up big for us every time, man,” Buccaneers coach Randy Johnson said of Grygo. “It’s a big game. We’ve got some big-game players, and she came through again for us.”
It was a rematch of last year’s final, when Caravel won a 1-0 nail-biter in 11 innings. This one played out completely differently, but the Bucs were just as happy at the end.
“The feeling never changes,” junior Brooke Holdsworth said. “It felt just as long as last year’s game, too. So it felt just as good to win it.”
Third-seeded Sussex Central (18-4) got off to a flying start in the first softball final played at the University of Delaware. Back-to-back doubles by Mya Jones and Takyla Davis and an RBI groundout gave the Golden Knights a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.
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The two starting pitchers, who had not exhibited any control problems all season, combined to walk 17 batters as the strike zone was exceptionally tight.
Top-seeded Caravel (19-1) benefitted from five walks and a hit batter in the second. Morgan Moxley drove in two with a double and Holdsworth plated two more with a single as the Bucs jumped to a 6-2 lead.
Four walks and an error helped Sussex Central in the top of the third, and Kaylee Verosko’s two-run single pulled the Golden Knights within 6-5.
The Bucs made it 7-5 on a bases-loaded walk in the fifth, but Davis drove in a run with a groundout and Katelyn Evick cracked an RBI single to tie it at 7 going into the bottom of the sixth.
Holdsworth led off for Caravel with a double, making her 3-for-3 with two RBIs.
“I was seeing it well, and I knew in order for us to win I had to hit the ball hard,” she said. “Just like everyone else, we had to rock our hits together.”
Rexrode came in to run, and with one out she scampered home easily on Grygo’s liner to the gap in right-center.
“I was really happy about that, especially because earlier in the game I started struggling a little bit,” Grygo said. “I knew my team had my back. They were yelling my name, and I knew I needed to come out here and hit the ball and get that hit for this team.”
The Bucs survived a one-walk walk in the seventh and closed it out on two fly balls for their second straight title.
“This team has each other’s backs all day, every day,” Grygo said. “We all come in to support each other.”
Sussex Central coach John Wells was proud of his team for capping an up-and-down year with another run back to the championship game.
“We fought all year,” Wells said. “Everybody had a bull’s-eye after us after having been to the finals. Every team gave us their best game, and our girls were resilient all year.”
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ
