ELDRED- “We didn’t think our star pitcher [Giada Donato] would play today,” said Eldred Head Coach Bill Furler. But as luck would have it Donato made her way to the mound in the second inning. Still nursing an injury from a tournament the previous weekend, relief pitcher Emma Bisland pitched the opening inning for the Yellowjackets, her status was also in question before the start of the game.

 In arguably one of the most impressive comebacks the Yellowjackets roared back from an 11 point deficit to win their final home game of the season 21-12 against the Rockland Wolves. The Wolves came out roaring knocking down 11 runs during their at bat in the top of the first inning. 

The shouts of encouragement from the Rockland dugout spurred on their teammates to keep the offensive pressure on. Nevaeh Bush went 3-for-4 at the plate driving in a double and 1 RBI, and Clara Leroy went 1-for-2 while driving in multiple runs for the Wolves. It looked like an uphill battle for the home team. When Eldred’s outfield finally closed on the third out they would have their work cut out for them. “It was a big comeback from being down eleven runs, trying to keep the girls motivated was tough,” said Furler commenting on Rockland’s early lead. 

The Wolves managed to hold the Yellowjackets scoreless through the second inning but then the Yellowjackets started to chip away at the deficit, eventually erasing the Wolves’ lead. 

One of the most spectacular plays of the game came at the hands of Sydney Furler. Furler hit a grand slam in the fifth inning, bringing in four runs and the ‘jackets finally took their first lead of the game in the fifth. Despite a downpour that lasted close to 30 minutes they [Yellowjackets] would go on to score score a total of eight runs in the fifth and five additional runs in  the sixth inning. The Yellowjackets didn’t allow the Wolves to score again until the top of the final inning. After 6.5 innings the Yellowjackets, on their senior night, had secured a dominant win over the Wolves. It was a complete team effort for the Yellowjackets with nearly every player getting a hit or driving in runs.

 Also contributing to the Wolves’ offense was Andrea Bush, Kelsey Ryder, Emily Harasemovech, Gianna Dutcher, Myla Carlson, Angelina Schwartz, Allison Froelich, and Alexandra Potosek struck out seven. In addition to her grand slam Eldred’s Sydney Furler had 5 RBI and Madison Gaeta went 3-for-4 including a double. Donato allowed only 3 hits and fanned 13 batters while on the mound. The Yellowjackets (13-5) move on to face Chapel Field in the Section IX Class D Championship game on Thursday, May 28 at 4 pm at Mount Saint Mary College.