KEYSER, W.Va. — A crazy base-running sequence, during which Petersburg stole home twice on the same play, powered the Vikings to victory Thursday.
Tayler Likens gave Keyser a 3-2 lead with a solo home run in the fifth, setting the school career home run record in the process, but that’s when mayhem ensued.
After the tying run scored on a wild pitch, Keyser nearly got out of a bases-loaded jam by picking off the runner at first for the final out.
However, Cheyenne Sites avoided the tag and started a rundown, allowing Kylei Berg to score from third. As the pickle continued, Petersburg realized nobody was covering home, and Shyane Tawney followed suit despite starting at second base.
Tawney’s bonus score came in handy as No. 3 Keyser got the tying run to third base in the seventh inning, but Sam Colaw stranded Likens 60 feet away with a strikeout to give No. 2 Petersburg a 5-4 victory.
“We felt pretty good that we were going to get a throw,” Petersburg head coach Bubba Hedrick said of the rundown play in the sixth. “They have a pretty good catcher (Likens), my gosh she has a cannon. She came up throwing, and it worked out for us.
“Sam (Colaw) was terrific tonight. Got out of a jam a couple times and helped us win a good one.”
Petersburg (20-7) came into Thursday’s bout off an emotional defeat to section rival Pendleton County (19-3) a day prior.
Colaw threw a complete game Wednesday, and she threw another to defeat Keyser (19-8), allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits with eight strikeouts and three walks in seven frames.
Likens began the seventh with a ground-rule double to right field, advancing to third on an Ivy Bromhal grounder to the right side, but Colaw stepped up when she needed to.
“All credit to our defense, they did a great job knocking all the balls down,” said Colaw, the team’s lone senior. “Getting it in fast and making the plays we needed them to. It really helps. My catcher (Elle Chew) is calling a great game for me.
“I think we all just came together. We knew we needed this win.”
Hedrick said he wasn’t sure how the Vikings would respond after the 4-2 loss to Pendleton — it was apparent from the first inning that Petersburg was up for a fight.
Just three batters into the game, Colaw served a 1-2 pitch over the right-field fence for a solo home run.
Rylee Mangold pulled Keyser level a half-inning later with a sacrifice fly to plate Brielle Root, and Root made it 2-1 Keyser with an RBI single in the second.
The pendulum swung back even in the third when Petersburg’s Miley Tingler went yard with another solo homer.
Keyser regained control after Likens led off the fifth with an opposite-field solo bomb — her record 32nd home run in a Golden Tornado uniform.
Alexa Shoemaker, now an All-American at WVU Potomac State, had the previous high mark.
“It was hard to do,” Likens said. “Lex had a ton of home runs, but it was really exciting. … I can go back to playing again.”
Trailing 3-2 going into the sixth, Petersburg put the lead-off runner on when Blaire Loy’s pop-up was dropped by the Keyser second baseman.
Berg was hit by a pitch, and Tawney drew a one-out walk to load the bases.
A wild pitch scored Loy to tie the score, and Sites drew a walk of her own to again load the bases with one away.
Keyser freshman hurler Leighton Johnson, who pitched well enough to win, induced a pop out from the hard-hitting Colaw, and she was just an out away from keeping the score level.
However, Likens caught Sites leaning at first base, Sites started a rundown and the rest is history.
“The girl was getting off of first a little bit,” Keyser head coach Colton Jones said. “We got a good read on that, we made a good throw down there and we had her dead to rights.
“Unfortunately she got in a rundown, and all things went wrong there, but we’ll learn from it.”
Keyser got a run back in the bottom of the sixth on a Petersburg throwing error, but the Golden Tornado couldn’t close the gap.
Johnson took the loss in the circle, surrendering five runs (two earned) on six hits in seven innings pitched.
Keyser out-hit Petersburg, 8-6, but the Vikings drew eight free passes. The Golden Tornado had two fewer errors (3-1), not including the costly mental mistake in the sixth.
Root led all hitters with three base hits, and Madyson McIntyre doubled. The Vikings’ Tingler and Chew had multi-hit games.
Keyser will look to bounce back at Hampshire (8-17) on Friday at 5 p.m. in its final tune-up before the Class AA playoffs.
Petersburg now turns to the postseason, where it’ll likely open Class A sectional play on Wednesday.
“That’ll give Sam (Colaw) a good break, get her rested up,” Hedrick said.