O’Donnell’s bat sinks Buffalo Gap

By Corine Gatti

Published: May 19, 2008

SWOOPE – To Stonewall Jackson catcher Kaitlyn O’ Donnell, the 12-7 victory over Buffalo Gap on Monday afternoon was special for two reasons. The win allowed the Generals to advance to the second-round of the Shenandoah District tournament and gave O’Donnell the opportunity show off her offensive skills to her grandfather.
“It feels great to win, this is my last year to play,” O’Donnell said. “But I was happy that my grandfather was able to see me play, and play well.”
The senior went 4-for-5 with a walk, double, a triple and a home run. The rest of the Generals went on a hitting rampage, in the third inning, busting out for 10 runs break a 1-1 tie. O’Donnell had her part in the onslaught, waving her bat and smashing her first career home run off of Gap pitcher Morgan Allanson that sailed over the right-field fence.
“It felt great. I’d hit a double or a triple just inches from the fence,” O’Donnell said. “I was always close, but finally I hit a homerun.”
The Generals came in to the game as the No. 5 five seed in the district.
General coach Michael Hunt said his team was on equal footing as his opponents.
“I think we were evenly matched with Gap, we split the regular season with them,” Hunt said. “We were hitting them good and kept trying to get more runs for a cushion.”
That padding, would come in handy, Gap fought back with a 3-run rally in the bottom of the third inning against General pitcher Marcy Beall.
Bison first-year coach Lisa Morris said that her team had a good run this season.
“We do not have a dominant pitcher, who throws a lot of strikes,” she said. “We have to rely on our defense, but it’s disappointing that our season has ended.”
Gap vied for another comeback in the fourth inning on a leadoff home run by Holly Morgan. They pushed another run across on a wild pitch in the seventh, but relief pitcher Odessa Ryan stopped the Bison from any more comebacks.
“I think that our club has really improved,” O’Donnell said. “I happy that we will be able to kept it going.”
O’Donnell’s grandfather missed her first home run, but his granddaughter still gave him a show.
“Yea, he was stuck in construction traffic, but I was happy that we was able to see the rest of the game,” she said.
The Generals will face the No. 2 seed, Wilson, Wednesday at 4 at Bridgewater.