Softball: Woodlands delivers a memorable 45-29 comeback win over Poughkeepsie
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Nope, your eyes are not fooling you.
On Tuesday night, Woodlands really did battle back to defeat Poughkeepsie on the road by a 45-29 margin.
Woodlands head coach Samantha Angilletta has prepared her team to be ready for the unexpected, but there was no anticipation of that end result. Even days removed from the Falcons' hard-fought victory, they are all still processing the unique game.
The 74 combined runs are the second-most in New York high school softball history.
"This score is insane, so I'm not surprised it's up there, but I am also surprised that there's been even higher," Angilletta said.
From the archives: Palisade Prep and Gorton combine for 82 runs in state-record game
According to Bill Shaw, a high school softball historian and state softball Hall of Famer, a 2017 game where Palisade Prep defeated Gorton, 46-36, remains the state's highest-scoring game ever.
Tuesday's seven-inning marathon stands just ahead of a 72-0 victory by Section 3's Oriskany in the 1980s.
First pitch was originally scheduled for 4:45 p.m., but the start was delayed by 30 minutes. The game reportedly didn't end until approximately 9:20 p.m.
"We laughed. We were like, the Yankees started their game later and ended before we got home," Angilletta said. "I give a lot of credit to the girls. Even to the girls who came and were supportive and didn't get in the game, we were in it, and we kept reminding each other of that."
Poughkeepsie led after each of the first five innings. The Pioneers built a 24-15 lead through four innings, before the Falcons began to turn it up.
"The inconsistency with the walks really got us down, and I feel like it was kind of a domino effect," Angilletta said. "Since we were down, it was hard for us to get back on offense, and it was going back and forth. I also think that the girls had the mindset that we were going to win against Poughkeepsie, because we'd done it before, so they started playing down.
"We gave them that talk and made them realize (Poughkeepsie) picked us for their Senior Night, and they wanted to play us. If we don't give them what they came for, then it's not a game. ... They were trying to get 15 runs (and mercy us), and if we don't come back and get some runs, we were going home. It was almost 8:15, and we said, 'We came all this way for them to just send us home?' Then, they started getting riled up and saying, 'No. No.' and they knew what they had to do."
Woodlands inserted Tiffany Nicholson in relief, and Nicholson got the game under control in the circle. She gave up just five earned runs on two hits and two walks, while striking out nine over the final four innings of play. She also had a hit and two RBI at the plate.
"Tiffany is really good with getting that presence going. It's one of the reasons I wanted her to be a pitcher when I met her," Angilletta said. "She can hold her own and liven up the field, no matter if we're winning or losing. When she came in, you saw the whole persona change. The girls came together and started hitting, plus the RBI we were able to get."
The Falcons also got a huge double play by Milagros Williams that helped ignite the comeback.
"When they're on that field, they all make it work," Angilletta said. "Milagros had a double play that was huge. She was moving."
Williams finished with a hit and five runs, in addition to her defensive contributions.
Woodlands outscored Poughkeepsie 30-5 over the final three innings, showing strong plate discipline.
"It's mental, telling yourself don't swing at those high ones," Angilletta said. "The pitcher for Poughkeepsie, a lot of her pitches were arched. ... The high balls have been our discipline area this year. We were hungry for those high ones, but we really worked on telling ourselves that we can't do that and getting the timing right."
The Falcons led 30-28 entering the final inning, before scoring 15 runs to ensure their victory in the top of the seventh. In addition to Nicholson, Chiara Amendola contributed two hits and a game-high six RBI in the win. Kate Rios and Kyra Perez each had five RBI. Bridget Carey chipped in four RBI, while Kesai Butler and Melissa Rosas had three RBI apiece. Jordan Acevedo also had an RBI.
For Poughkeepsie, Julianna Powers stole seven bases, which according to the NYSPHSAA record book, is the second-highest total in a game. Ripley's Emilee Steger and Lake George Central's Kristine Shultz share the state record with eight stolen bases. Powers also surpasses Tappan Zee's Brittni Alexander, who stole five bases in three different games during the 2008 season for the Section 1 record.
Powers, Joey Roach, Ava Cooper and Katia Estrada each scored four runs. J'celle Wilson went 1-for-2 and scored three times for the Pioneers. Natalia Lopez had two RBI and three runs.
Here's a look at some of the numbers from the four-hour marathon:
528: Total pitches thrown by both teams.
134: Total plate appearances by batters from both teams.
59: Total stolen bases, 36 of them were from Poughkeepsie
42: Total unearned runs
38: Total number of walks. Woodlands was able to draw 24 of them.
22: Errors between both teams, 15 were by Poughkeepsie
16: Highest number of runs in an inning between both teams (seventh inning)
8: Woodlands' Melissa Rosas scored a game-high eight runs.
7: The Falcons scored at least two runs in all seven innings of the game.
6: The margin of victory in an earlier meeting on April 25, where the Falcons defeated the Pioneers, 22-16.
5: Number of innings with 10-plus runs between both teams.
4: Lowest number of combined runs in an inning (second inning)
3: There was plenty of small-ball and plate discipline in drawing walks, since there were only three extra-base hits.
1: After a hot start, Poughkeepsie was limited to just one run over the last two innings.
Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Softball: Woodlands' 45-29 comeback win is one for the history books
