Cape softball gets close but falls to Central
The Cape softball team batted the through swirling wind and the smoke thrown by Sussex Central pitcher Madge Layfield, as the Vikings fell 5-4 April 23 in Georgetown.
Ava Calciano, Kenna Justice and Jay’lyn Slater each had doubles. Abby Marsh, Natalya Roundtree and Milena Buehler each knocked in a run. Bri Windish also had a hit.
Cape junior pitcher Abby Marsh went six innings, giving up nine hits and five runs.
“We’re obviously very disappointed in the final score,” said Cape coach Mike Tkach. “With that said, I am also so very proud with how our girls competed and battled the entire game right up to the last out. Two years ago, Layfield threw a perfect game against us. Last year, she tossed a one-hit shutout. Today, we pushed her to the limit by hitting the ball solid and executing some good base running while putting up four runs. Abby is pitching solid and the defense is backing her up, while offensively we’re getting contributions up and down the lineup. Our schedule doesn’t get any easier with CR, Conrad, Smyrna, and Polytech being the next four games. We gotta just do our best, each person do their jobs the best they can. If we can do that, we’re gonna be fine.”
The Vikings scored first in the first inning and tallied three in the top of the seventh, but fell one run short in a comeback.
“The Cape team is a solid team and has the potential to beat anyone,” said Sussex Central coach John Wells. “They are well coached, play with force and the coaches are class competitors. I felt our defense and pitching came through in critical moments of the game for us. We were able get some timely hits and took advantage of a couple extra base runners put on by hit batters that eventually scored.”
Layfield went the distance for Central, striking out nine batters while giving up four runs and walking three.
Lauren Myers went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Kiersten Anderson had two hits and an RBI. Catherine Hassler, Karly Kruger and Avery Savage added a hit. Takyla Davis supplied the eventual game-winning runs with a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth.
Dan has worked for the Cape Gazette for more than 30 years as a photographer and reporter, covering high school sports and happenings around eastern Sussex County. He won a photography award from the National Newspaper Association, and numerous awards from the Maryland, Delaware, D.C. Press Association. A Delaware native, Dan graduated from Cape in 1972 and returned as a teacher and coach in the 1980s. He retired from the classroom in 2016. He was inducted into Cape High’s Legends Stadium in 2016. In his spare time, Dan enjoys spending time with his wife, two sons, grandchildren and dogs.
