Bradford, Vt.
Fornwalt ended up with a complete-game two-hitter, striking out 13 and walking only the game’s first batter, Mariah Archambault. The powerful right-hander was particularly tough on the second half of the Enosburg order, holding the bottom four hitless in nine at bats, with eight strikeouts.
Oh yeah, and she also crushed an opposite-field, two-run home run in the fifth inning to give the hosts a 5-1 lead and, finally, a bit of breathing room.
“Maddy is definitely the real deal,” Oxbow coach Robin Wozny said. “She’s a strong girl, and she can pitch, hit and field.”
While the final score might indicate a comfortable afternoon for the Olympians (17-0), that was most definitely not the case. Enosburg senior righty Emilee Bose dominated the Oxbow lineup over the game’s first three innings, allowing only a single baserunner, Alex Giesing, who reached on an infield error.
Things changed dramatically in the bottom of the fourth, however, when Oxbow sent eight batters to the plate, banging out two hits and drawing a pair of walks for a 3-1 lead. Kayleigh Trojanowski’s RBI groundout to second drove in Bailee Wheeler (leadoff single) to knot the game at 1-1, Fornwalt walked and eventually scored on a wild pitch, and Sara Walker’s two-out double to right plated Giesing (walk) to make it 3-1.
“We’ve talked all year about how it takes a pretty special pitcher to go seven strong innings,” Wozny said. “We try to make them pitch early, try to work the count and make them throw a lot of pitches, and then get to them the second or third time around.”
Fortunately for Wozny, Oxbow has just such a special pitcher anchoring its staff. Fornwalt’s elevated fastball got swings and misses all game long, her plus-fastball seeming even faster when complemented with a fall-off-the-table changeup.
“I knew they had some very powerful hitters, and if they put the bat on the ball they could make it go,” Fornwalt said of the Hornets, who shook off a three-plus hour road trip to knock off No. 4 Leland and Gray in the quarterfinals last week. “I just tried to mix it up a bit to keep them off balance.”
After Fornwalt’s screamer over the head of Enosburg right fielder Anestasia Neuberger in the bottom of the fifth drove in Corrina Oakley for a 5-1 Oxbow advantage and Fornwalt’s 10th home run of the year, the game’s primary drama centered around whether or not a no-hitter was in the works.
And even if that drama was short-lived — Enosburg leadoff hitter Archambault lined a single to right to open the sixth — the Olympians proved over the final two defensive frames that they are far from a one-trick pony. They can flash the leather, too.
The sixth inning ended when Oxbow first baseman Trojanowski snagged a slicing popup well into foul territory, wheeled and gunned down Archambault at third, and the game’s final out came after a Fornwalt wild pitch was speedily hunted down by catcher Wheeler, who threw her own perfect strike back to batterymate Fornwalt, who slapped the tag on Courtney Tatro (leadoff triple) to end the game.
“We did a good half hour of situational play during practice on Monday,” Wozny said. “I guess it was worth it. (Trojanowski) showed great presence of mind, for sure. She knew exactly what she was going to do.”
Oxbow’s final runs came in the sixth via a Jamie Stevens RBI groundout, and an RBI single by Mary Bourgeois. Bourgeois finished the day with two of the Olympians’ six hits, while both Fornwalt and Giesing scored a pair of runs.