The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Not too many pitchers get to do what Valencia Gibson did to the Charles W Saunders Cougars’ senior girls yesterday.

The St Augustine’s College 12th grader tossed a no-hitter, just missed pitching a perfect game as she walked one of the 10 batters she faced in the three innings to lead the Big Red Machine to an abbreviated 11-0 victory over the Cougars at Charles W Saunders. She also struck out eight and third sacker Evaghaua Munroe was responsible for the other out on her assist to first sacker Dane Adderley.

“It was excellent. I felt that I improved with all my hard work this summer,” said 17-year-old Gibson. “This was my second game that I pitched and so I think I’m just striving, getting better and better with every game.”

With the win, the defending champions St Augustine’s College pushed the league leading record to 4-0, leaving coach Anastasia Moultrie quite thrilled by the performance.

“We had about 3-4 starters who didn’t start,” Moultrie said. “So the girls, like I told them, we have an all-around team and anyone can go on the field and do what they have to do and that is what is expected of them. But nonetheless, they came out here and they did what they had to do and they got it done.”

Gibson shares the pitching duties with Mechelle Moss, who didn’t play. Moultrie said it just shows the depth that her and coach Jerome Roberts have to work with on the Big Red Machine team.

“She got a no-hitter, which was very good,” Moultrie said. “I just need her to come around with her bat. She knows what she needs to do. She’s missing some eye wear, but she’s alright.”

While Gibson got the job done on the mound, she didn’t fear well against Charles W Saunders’ ace Megan Grant, who struck her out in her three plate appearances.

Grant was just as stingy as Gibson, giving up only three hits, but she started to lose control of her pitches as the Big Red Machine came up with 10 big runs in the third inning as they batted around the clock to add to the one run that they secured in the first inning.

Grant struck out Gibson twice to start and end the inning, but the damage had already been done by the other SACers. Shaunte Curtis, Jerniqua Roberts, Leshan Pratt and DeShay Stubbs got on base on a walk, hit by pitch and a pair of errors respectively and they all came home on wild pitches.

After Gibson and Jamnie Cartwright struck out back-to-back, the Big Red Machine got six more runs consecutively from Dane Adderley, Evaghaua Munroe (single), Mechal Russell, Curtis, Roberts and Pratt with Stubbs producing a two-run single before Gibson was struck out to end the rally.

Curtis was responsible for scoring the first run for SAC in the first inning as she got on with an error that allowed her to reach second. She advanced to third on another error and scored on a wild pitch.

In the bottom of the first frame, Gibson struck out the first two batters before Grant drew a lead off walk. Gibson then struck out the final batter. In the second, Gibson struck out the first batter, Bregante Dean grounded out and Gibson struck out the last batter. Then in the third, Gibson struck out the side to end the game.

It wasn’t the type of performance that Charles W Saunders’ coach Brad Wood Jr had anticipated.

“The girls came out really flat. The pitching remained standard, but we made a lot of errors, too many errors,” he said. “I feel with all of those errors, if we had scored, we would not have won the game. We have to minimise the errors and pull up our run count. If we do that, we will be okay.”

The Cougars were still reeling off their 17-16 victory over the Big Red Machine senior boys Monday at Charles W Saunders on a walk off grand slam home run by Shawn Davis to push their record to 4-0. But SAC senior girls were determined not to drop another game to CW Saunders.

The Big Red Machine senior girls got some revenge for their senior boys in the shut out.