Softball: South County 6, Yorktown 4

By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Editor
Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area

**Click the links at the top-left, above the video interview with Chelsey Dunham, for complete video and photo coverage from the game.**

In her previous two games against Northern Region opponents, South County pitcher Chelsey Dunham was untouchable, hurling a no-hitter and perfect game in back-to-back outings against Patriot District teams.

But through two innings against Yorktown on Monday, the junior ace seemed human.

She gave up a first-inning solo homer to Patriot 3B Emily Panyard and four second-inning hits that led to a pair of runs.

From the third inning on, though, Dunham was lights-out, striking out eight of 11 batters in one stretch, as the Stallions rolled to a 6-4 win over the Patriots in Arlington.

“She wasn’t rattled,” South County coach Al Thompson said. “We just came back from a winning streak down in Myrtle Beach where we played some really tough teams. And she plays travel ball, she doesn’t come into every game thinking she’s going to get a no-hitter.

“She doesn’t really get rattled, she just has to find her groove.”

Added Dunham, who struck out 13 batters, while walking just one: “I just got warm. I didn’t get as much warm-up time as I normally get before games. And I found the umpire’s zone, where he likes it.”

South County (10-1) found its stroke soon after Dunham.

After the Patriots jumped to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second, the Stallions put up a six-spot in the top of the third. They used five hits and three Yorktown errors to turn a three-run deficit into an instant three-run lead.

Outside of the third inning, South County managed no runs and only four hits. Still, with Dunham in the pitching circle, the six-run inning held up, propelling the Stallions to their first-ever win over the Patriots (5-1).

“We’ve lost to them to the past two years,” said Dunham, who hit an RBI single in the decisive third inning. “This was definitely a team win. We had that one ****** inning with all of our hits, so it’s amazing.”

Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com

South County 006 000 0 — 6 9 2
Yorktown 120 001 0 — 4 8 3

Pitchers:
SC – Dunham (W) – CG, 8 H, 3 ER, 13 K, BB
YK – Bauman (L) – 5.1 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 4 K, 2 BB
YK – Blaine – 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 4 K, 0 BB
Pitches – Strikes:
SC – Dunham – 101-75.
YK – Bauman – 105-62; Blaine – 26-17.
Groundouts – Flyouts:
SC – Dunham – 4-4.
YK – Bauman – 10-2; Blaine – 0-1.
Batters Faced – First-Pitch Strikes:
SC – Dunham – 30-21.
YK – Bauman – 28-12; Blaine – 5-4.
Notable Batters:
SC – Dillow – 2-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI, K, R
SC – Dunham – 1-3, RBI
SC – Kastner – 1-3, BB, K, R, SB
SC – Hunt – 0-3, RBI, 3 K
SC – Boynton – 2-3, R
SC – Reisinger – 2-3, R
YK – Bauman – 2-4, RBI
YK – Schneider – 2-3, RBI, R
YK – Paynard – 1-4, HR, RBI, 2 K, R
YK – Severn – 2-3, K, R
Runners Left on Base:
SC – 6