Delaware Military Academy wins the battle of the Seahawks 6-1
Sussex Academy softball came into its May 17 game against 12-5 Delaware Military Academy as the winners of three straight, hoping to finish the season above .500. Although they scored first, the visiting Seahawks upended the home Seahawks 6-1 in the battle of imaginary birds.
Sophia Bowen led the offensive charge for Sussex Academy. The freshman had two hits and scored the first run of the game after singling, stealing second and advancing home on the next two outs. The home team carried the 1-0 lead into the top of the fourth, when a visibly frustrated Emily Trzonkowski trotted up to the plate. The junior took her frustrations out on a Carson Gesuero pitch and sent a yellow rocket over the left-field fence to give DMA a 2-1 lead.
Things quieted down over the next few frames before a four-run DMA outburst in the top of the sixth finished off the scoring for the day. The 6-1 victory may have snapped the home Seahawks' winning streak, but morale remains high, particularly for Sophie Noon. The game was the lone senior's final regular-season home game.
“I played all four years,” said Noon. “From my first home game to now, I'm better; the team is different, but I'm glad to have these people around me. I'll be sad to leave it – I've been doing this for so long – but we are still probably going to be in the tournament. So hopefully, it's not going to be my last game playing with this team.”
Noon’s prediction came true, as the Seahawks qualified for the state tournament. The No. 18 squad will travel to No. 15 Wilmington Charter Tuesday, May 21. The winner will play No. 2 Sussex Central Thursday, May 23, at Sussex Tech.
Seahawks coach Gerald Jester thinks his team is playing well at the right time, noting the fact they went toe-to-toe against a top team in the state for six innings.
“We've been on a nice little run. [The] girls are playing good ball right now,” Jester said. “We're looking just to build on that and keep playing good ball. We had one bad inning today.”
Jester thinks the key to his players’ recent form has been a team effort fueled by strong defense coupled with good pitching.
“That's what we thought was going to be our strong point at the beginning of the year, and it took us a while to get there, but we're there,” Jester said.
