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Crown ’em: Comets claim Region 16 title
The Cottey Comets’ softball team is in unchartered territory.
It was a grand weekend on the diamond for Cottey, as a pair of come-from-behind victories against St. Louis Community College lifted the Comets to their first-ever NJCAA Division II Region 16 championship.
Cottey entered play as the fourth-seed at the four-team double-elimination tournament, which began Saturday at Vanek Family Field on the Cottey campus. The first game of the tournament pitted the Lady Archers of St. Louis Community College against Cottey. Things looked bleak late for Cottey, as the Comets trailed by a run entering the top of the seventh, facing 20-game winner Kyla Blankenship. The Comets rallied to tie the contest, forcing extra innings, en route to a 4-3 eight-inning victory.
In the tournament’s next contest, third-seeded East Central College knocked off Mineral Area College, 6-4. St. Louis then returned to the diamond defeating and also dispatching Mineral Area from the tournament –– keeping its season alive. The final contest of the afternoon was a winners bracket matchup between Cottey and East Central.
Pitching in back-to-back games for the first time this season, Comets’ ace Marisa Jervis tossed a seven-inning gem to propel Cottey to a 3-1 victory, leaving the Comets as the only team to emerge from Saturday unscathed.
Entering Sunday, Cottey needed just one victory to secure the Region 16 crown. Meanwhile, the winner of the St. Louis vs. East Central (losers bracket) contest faced a tall task, as it would need three consecutive victories to reign as the Region 16 champion. Behind Blankenship, St. Louis blanked East Central 2-0, but still needed a pair of victories against Cottey to advance in postseason play.
Comets’ first-year head coach Mark Skapin didn’t think twice about starting Jervis against St. Louis at noon on Sunday. Jervis, who logged 15 innings of work on Saturday, wasn’t as sharp in game one of the championship round. Jervis lasted only two innings as St. Louis run-ruled the Comets 11-3 in five innings, setting the stage for the decisive second game.
After starting freshman Kourtney Timper in the 11-3 victory, St. Louis head coach Kristi Swiderski made a stunning move, running Timper back out to start game two –– while bypassing their ace, Blankenship.
“I was shocked,” said Skapin of Swiderski’s decision.
After being replaced by Michala Coffman in the first game, Jervis was back on the mound as Cottey’s game two starter. Jervis, a sophomore transfer out of Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College, allowed a first inning run via Madison Sundling’s RBI-double. Jervis then cruised through the second inning as Cottey still trailed 1-0.
The top of the third changed the complexion of the game, as Coffman reached on a leadoff walk, followed by a Patri Eckert infield single. With Timper beginning to labor on the mound, Texas-native Izzy Milligan crushed an offering down the left field line and high over the wall, handing the Comets a 3-1 advantage.
“I thought it was foul at first,” said Milligan, who stopped halfway down the first base line. “I was kind of disappointed at first, because I put all of my power into that swing.”
Milligan continued “The count was two balls and no strikes and coach told me to look for something ‘juicy only.’ I was in shock when I realized it was a home run.”
“She had a 2-0 green-light,” said Skapin. “She had an inside pitch to turn on, and she absolutely put everything she had into it.”
Milligan’s blast knocked Timper out of the contest and brought on Blankenship to replace her.
Comets freshman slugger Hannah Bridges greeted Blankenship rudely, blasting a solo home run to dead center field for a 4-1 Comets lead. Cottey’s offensive onslaught continued as a walk, infield error and bunt single loaded the bases. With one-out Justice Owens worked the count full and drew a walk, plating sophomore catcher Jessica Manderino, moving the Cottey lead to 5-1. Blankenship walked in another run before finally escaping the bases loaded jam with a strike out and fly out. The damage, however, had been done as Cottey led 6-1 entering the bottom of the third.
St. Louis plated a run in third and tacked on another in the fourth courtesy of a Sarah Goers solo home run, trimming the deficit to 6-3. After her rocky third inning Blankenship settled into a groove, keeping Cottey off the scoreboard through the middle innings.
Jervis was able to work around runners on the corners in the fifth, inducing an inning-ending groundout as the Comets maintained the 6-3 lead entering the sixth. Blankenship then retired the side in order in the top of the sixth.
The Lady Archers opened the home-half of the sixth with back-to-back singles, followed by a sacrifice bunt that put runners in scoring position. With two outs Shekinah Griffin lined a 2-RBI double into the left-center field gap, slicing Cottey’s lead to 6-5.
Anna Counts followed with an RBI triple to right-center, tying the contest 6-6. St. Louis then regained the lead on a Sundling infield single, scoring Counts to hand the Lady Archers a 7-6 advantage.
The inning concluded with Manderino gunning down Sundling as she attempted to steal second base.
The shot heard ‘round Nevada
Needing just three outs to advance to the NJCAA Region 16 district tournament Blankenship returned to the mound for the seventh, looking to slam the door on Cottey’s season. Bridges, who played like the tournament’s MVP, gave the Comets new life, leading off the inning with a dramatic solo home run to center field. With her second blast of the game, and third of the tournament, Bridges set a new Comets single season home run record with six. More importantly, she tied the contest 7-7.
“I was just thinking that I need to get on base so my teammates can drive me in,” said Bridges, a Portland, Oregon-native. “Then the home run just happened. I knew as I was rounding first that we had the momentum back.”
“One big hit caused a chain-reaction,” said Skapin of Bridges’ blast. “Her home run (allowed) everybody to believe.”
Things continued to fall apart for St. Louis, as back-to-back errors, including a dropped fly ball in right field, put runners in scoring position.
“That sun is absolutely brutal on this field,” said Skapin. “That’s an All-Region right fielder. That’s a tough play in the sun. If she would have put the sunglasses on earlier, we might not be talking right now.”
With one out in the inning, sophomore Breanna Kelley’s single to right scored Manderino as the Comets went on top 8-7. Aggressive base running moved Lily Brockus to third, and Cottey increased its lead to 9-7 as Owens laid down a bunt single to score Brockus.
Now holding a two-run lead, it was Jervis looking to slam the door on the Lady Archers’ season. Blankenship, hoping to aid her own cause, led off the inning with a bloop single. Jervis then settled in, inducing consecutive groundouts. With two outs and Blankenship at third, Eva Rasey rolled a sharply hit grounder to Milligan at second base, who fired to Delia Lynch at first for the final out as the Comets mobbed each other on the infield in a wild celebration.
“I’m shocked that they continue to do this every single game,” said an elated Skapin. “They just don’t quit.”
Cottey 4, St. Louis 3
In the opening game of the tournament Saturday morning, Blankenship dominated the Comets, racking up seven strikeouts through four innings as St. Louis led 2-0.
With two outs in the top of the fifth, Maderino showed her veteran savvy, working a hard-earned walk against Blankenship. Owens then came through with one of the biggest hits in the tournament, pulling a Blankenship offering down the right-field line and just inside the foul pole. The breakthrough 2-run round-tripper tied the contest 2-2. St. Louis responded in the bottom half of the frame, with a Blankenship sacrifice fly putting the Lady Archers back on top 3-2.
Both teams went in order in the sixth. Despite her dominance, Blankenship was unable to close the door on Cottey in the seventh. Down to their final strike, with nobody on base, Lynch fouled off a number of pitches before lacing a double to the left field wall. Manderino followed with a double to right, scoring Lynch from second to knot the contest 3-3. An Owens fly out to right field ended the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh Jervis found herself in a nearly impossible situation, with runners at the corners and nobody out. With the infield in and the outfield playing shallow, Counts grounded out to third as the runners held. Sundling followed with an infield pop out. Blankenship, who again could have aided her own cause, flied out to Bridges in center field, sending the game to extra frames.
“Marisa was like a magician in that inning,” said Skapin, referring to her mastery working out of the jam.
In the top of the eighth a walk, error and bunt single put runners in scoring position with one out. Bridges then put Cottey in front with a single to left, plating Coffman for a 4-3 lead. Blankenship limited the damage, recording a groundout and strike out to escape the inning.
The bottom of the eighth opened with Bridges making a spectacular diving catch on a sinking line drive to center field.
“That might have been the play of the season,” Skapin marveled.
After allowing an infield single to Goers, Jervis recorded the final two outs with little trouble as Cottey secured the electrifying comeback victory.
All-Tournament accolades
Making the All-Region 16 Tournament team for Cottey, were: Bridges, Jervis, Milligan and Coffman. In addition to Bridges single-season home run record, Jervis’ three tournament victories improved her to 13-7 on the season. Jervis’ 13 victories is also a single-season record.
“Without Marisa, we don’t have a chance of winning this tournament,” said Skapin.
During the postgame awards ceremony Skapin was named the NJCAA Region 16 Coach of the Year. If this season was a Hollywood movie script it would be hard to believe, as the Comets went 3-85 overall from 2014-16. Now, Cottey is one of only 32 teams remaining in the country.
“This is really awesome, considering we were the underdogs for the entire season,” Coffman said. “We fought through the entire tournament against everyone’s expectations. This is a new organization, we’re trying to start a legacy at Cottey.”