Crofton softball coach Sarah Bible reckons it was food poisoning that sent senior Marley Connor to throw up in the trash can between innings Monday against North County.
Even that couldn’t hold her back.
While a young Knights team proved it could menace any team a step off its game this season, Connor curbed them at nearly every chance in a 2-1 victory.
“Marley’s always going to play her heart out, no matter what,” Bible said. “This was an important game for seeding and for regionals, and it’s senior day. She was determined to win it.”
That, Connor said, and she couldn’t let her grandparents behind the first base line down.
The senior ace struck out 11, most notably in the top of the sixth when her Cardinals needed her most. In the sixth, Connor only needed four pitches to retire two North County batters, bringing up Knights junior Reese Butler.
Butler has earned respect from opposing teams over the years and has been a hitter Connor has yet to master. In her third plate appearance of the afternoon, Butler took three balls before striking a deep single into left.
The Cardinals flocked in to surround Connor.
“I just kind of told us to calm down,” the senior said. “Make sure the errors didn’t compile. Make sure that was the last hit of the inning.”
Connor struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Along with the sixth, the Crofton starter stranded North County runners in the first and fourth. She put together three 1-2-3 innings, fanning the entire side in the second.
The Cardinals wouldn’t have even had a lead to hold if Connor hadn’t rocketed the first pitch she faced to center field and plated the first run.
“If I’m down, we’re down. If I’m up, we’re up,” Connor said. “This game, it was really important to keep leading – even if I was throwing up between innings.”
Crofton honored six seniors Monday night, but compared to years past, the 5-year-old program is light on experience. Still, even in seven defeats this season, Bible felt like her fledgling team was competitive, and she credits her two four-year starters for that. Connor, as well as leadoff hitter Alanna Yancey, serve as anchors to the younger players finding their footing on varsity, having shrugged into leading roles on the team years ago.
That leadership is clearly paying dividends already.
Crofton couldn’t fend off North County with only one run on the board. But before Knights designated player Kaitlyn Teets swiped home on a wild pitch in the top of the fifth, Cardinals sophomore Elsee McCracken had her own fun on the base paths a half-inning earlier.
A hard hit to left field was bobbled, allowing McCracken to roll around to third. The Cardinals catcher swapped places with her courtesy runner, Stella Livesay, who hardly waited to make her move.
Sophomore Casey Peterson lined a bullet to right field, giving Livesay more than enough time to sprint home for a 2-0 lead.
“The younger players look up to [Yancey and Connor],” Bible said. “And with good reason – those are two players they should admire.”
NORTH COUNTY – 000 010 0 – 1 3 2
CROFTON – 100 100 X – 2 5 2
WP – CR: Marley Connor, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 11 SO
LP – NC: Lexi Garrison, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO
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