No movement at the top

By Ted Allen

Published: May 1, 2008

Holy Cross senior shortstop Kaity Harrison and Liberty Christian Academy freshman pitcher Killian Harrison had a little sibling rivalry going on in Thursday’s doubleheader at LCA.
“That was pretty interesting,” Gaels coach Kenny Brown said of the two sisters who chose to play softball at separate private schools, the two closest rivals in the Blue Ridge Conference. “That was really the first time they’ve faced each other and Kaity’s been telling me there’s been a whole lot of in-house rivalry going on as far as trash-talking.”
After Kaity Harrison was hit by a pitch from LCA starter Jamie Graham in the seventh inning of the first game, a 3-2 Holy Cross victory, Killian Harrison tossed a one-hitter in the five-inning second game, a 2-1 LCA win, nearly hitting Kaity’s ankle with one pitch.
“She came inside and almost got her sister,” Brown said.
She said there was no malicious intent, though, in facing Kaity.
“It was nerve-wracking, very,” Killian said.
She led off the fourth with the last of five walks issued by Holy Cross pitcher Samantha Thacker, who also tossed a one-hitter, before sliding home with the winning run on a fielder’s choice hit to second by Laci Windsor. She used an aggressive slide and barely beat the relay throw from first baseman Jesika Christian.
“She’s an exciting player to watch,” LCA coach Maitlin Wade said. “She’s got good foot-speed and was able to get into scoring position.”
“With her speed and already being half the way up the line, that’s a very difficult play to turn,” Brown added. “I’d trade an out for a run any time right there.”
Killian only struck out three, while walking two and committing two errors in the field, but she made the putouts and the pitches she needed when she needed them to preserve the win.
“For a ninth-grader coming in, her velocity is awesome,” Brown said. “But she had some pitches that we helped her on a little bit.”
In the end, splitting the twin bill was kind of like kissing her sister.
“It’d have been nice to win both, but yeah,” said Killian, who improved to 5-1 with the win.
In a change from recent seasons, due to Timberlake Christian School going independent, both games counted toward the BRC standings, so the two teams remained tied for first place at 9-1 — LCA is 11-4 overall and Holy Cross is 12-6. They will likely meet again in the BRC tournament, as they did in last season’s championship game with the Gaels prevailing 3-2 in nine innings.
Danielle Furniss, an E.C. Glass transfer, earned the win for Holy Cross in Thursday’s first game with offensive support from Taylor Thomas, who doubled to start a two-run fourth and singled and scored an insurance run in the seventh, putting the Gaels up 3-1.
Thomas led off the fourth inning of the second game with the only hit off Killian Harrison. But Kaity Harrison and Amanda Thacker hit into a fielder’s choice plays and the Gaels stranded runners at first and third when Killian atoned for one errant throw to first by retiring Christian on a comebacker.
“I would have liked to have won both of them,” Thomas said. “It’s a tough loss, but you win some and you lose some. We tried to rally it back up. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. We did our best.