West sweeps doubleheader from Edison to advance
Originally published May 1, 2011 at midnight, updated May 2, 2011 at 3:36 a.m.
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CommentSATURDAY'S SCORESNEXT UP
Victoria West 6, San Antonio Edison 5
Victoria West 9, San Antonio Edison 2
Victoria West will face either Alice or Mercedes
Emily Skipper waggles her bat in the air, staring down the pitcher.
There's something different about the junior's mannerisms that at the plate that are different from her teammates.
The Victoria West rightfielder does not like to be cheated at the plate.
"You just have to be aggressive at the strikes that come across," she said. "But I have to watch the pitches we swing at."
Skipper was on point at the plate on Saturday when the Warriors needed her most, going 5 for 8 combined over two games as Victoria West bounced back from an extra inning loss on Friday night to San Antonio Edison.
The Warriors doubleheader sweep of the Lady Bears - 6-5 in the first game, 9-2 in the second - advances them to the second round, where they will play either Mercedes or Alice next week.
It comes from years of little league experience. The junior played baseball from tee ball up to the end of sixth grade, when she decided to focus on basketball.
This year, she decided to try something different by trying out for softball.
"I just wanted to try something new and do something different," she said. "I just kind of decided."
It took a little bit for her to get back into the swing of the game. But some skills never lapse.
"It was a little different at first, but it didn't take much to get back used to it," she said.
Warriors coach Rome McNary said Skipper uses her strongest features, particularly her speed, to her advantage on the diamond.
"She hits the ball on the ground and she uses her best asset, and that's her speed," he said. "When she does that every single play is tough."
Saturday, she was finding holes, hitting several short flairs that found the edge of the outfielder.
She reached base in her first three at-bats, scoring twice on hits by Allena Cannady and Priscilla Jimenez.
Eboni Murphy also made key contributions Saturday, going 2 for 3 in the first game with an inside-the-park home run. She followed that up in the second game with two triples.
McNary said Murphy makes key contributions by getting on base in front of the top of the lineup.
"She's what we need at the bottom of the lineup," McNary said. "We need people to get the offense started and get the team fired up."
The Warriors were able to take advantage of the opportunities given. After Edison rallied from a 5-1 deficit to tie Game 2 up in the top of the seventh, the Warriors were able to take advantage of an error at first base to put the game away in the bottom of the inning.
In the second game, with Lady Bears pitcher Regina Morales showing signs of tiring after throwing Games 1 and 2, the Warriors scored in five of seven innings to run away with the deciding game.
"That's one of the best teams as far as I've seen with heart and not giving up," he said. "(Edison) never looked like they were out of the game."
It was a far cry from what happened in the first game, in San Antonio, where two key errors allowed Edison to first tie the game in the bottom of the seventh with two outs, then win it in the ninth.
"You lose, you can't get negative and pout," he said. "If you've got a chance in two more games, you've just got to go play."
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