PREP SOFTBALL: North Hardin rallies by John Hardin as Whelan allows arguably one hit (05/06)

Jill Pickett

John Hardin's Autumn Chancey lays down a bunt during Monday's game against North Hardin at North Hardin High School.

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Jill Pickett

John Hardin's Shelbie Hatmaker makes the catch for the out against North Hardin during varsity action Monday at North Hardin High School.

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North Hardin's Heather Oldham is safe at second as the ball slips away from John Hardin's Kali Baker during Monday's game at North Hardin High School.

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North Hardin pitcher Andrea Whelan lets the ball fly to a waiting John Hardin batter during Monday's game at North Hardin High School.

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North Hardin's Dani Clark beats the throw to John Hardin catcher Kelsey Bennett to score the tying run in the bottom of the seventh inning Monday in varsity action at North Hardin High School.

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John Hardin pitcher Jenna Gachassin winds up as she pitches against North Hardin during varsity action Monday at North Hardin High School.

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By NATHANIEL BRYAN nbryan@thenewsenterprise.com RADCLIFF — Assuming Andrea Whelan was a wild west tradeswoman, she’d have some serious work to do on them thar barterin’ skills. A North Hardin High School freshman pitcher, Whelan tried arguing her way to a no-hitter, but had to settle for a nine-strikeout, one-hitter in a 2-1 win Monday night over the John Hardin Lady Bulldogs in what was a pivotal 17th District game for the host Trojans. As the home team, the book for North Hardin was the “official” stat book. Unfortunately for Whelan, North Hardin assistant coach Aaron Howell had already ruled the play in question as a single instead of a fielder’s choice. Finding out Howell was her only shot at no-hitter, Whelan went to work after the game. “Now Coach Howell, hurry up and get over here. And if you do everything I say, everything will be peachy,” said Whelan (9-4), beckoning for Howell. Howell once again stood his ground, choosing to err on the side of accuracy instead of benefiting the home team. But longtime North Hardin coach Donnie Baker couldn’t blame Whelan for her pitching or her bartering skills. “She does have a good point: We are the home book,” Baker said. “You can’t really fault her for that.” Either way, the day was still successful for Whelan inside the pitcher’s circle and at the plate. Whelan, who no-hit district rival Central Hardin as an eighth-grader, was a hit batsman away from a perfect game heading into the fourth inning. “I thought Andi pitched a great game. She did a good job of hitting her spots,” North Hardin senior catcher Sarah Greenwood said of Whelan, who struck out six of the first 10 Lady Bulldogs she faced. The only inning Whelan had problems with the Lady Bulldogs was the fourth. With one out and an 0-2 count on senior center fielder Morgan Dixon, Whelan walked Dixon four pitches later. “Walks like that one come back to bite me. Especially that one, since it was their only run,” Whelan said. Dixon made Whelan pay, stealing second and alertly moving to third base when a wild pitch on the fourth ball on a walk to senior catcher Kelsey Bennett bounced off the backstop. This is where Whelan has a beef with her stat keeper. With Dixon on first and senior Lauren Stamp (Bennett’s courtesy runner) on first, junior first baseman Autumn Chancey bunted back to North Hardin junior third baseman Lindsey Blair. Assuming the speedy Dixon was coming home for the go-ahead run, Blair tossed the ball to Greenwood. Instead, Dixon retreated, Stamp took second and Chancey took first before Greenwood could try to throw to first. According to the baseball/softball statistics manual, “A fielder’s choice is the act of a fielder who handles a fair grounder and, instead of throwing to first base to put out the batter-runner, throws to another base in an attempt to put out a preceding runner.” But the rule makes no mention of a preceding runner who does not have to attempt to advance a base. And for that reason, John Hardin coach Andrew Hundley, like Howell, also gave Chancey a single. Either way, the shutout, in addition to the no-hitter, was gone by the next at-bat. John Hardin senior right fielder Kaitlin Cofer then bunted to North Hardin senior first baseman Heather Oldham, who tagged out Cofer and threw to Greenwood for a possible ending-inning double play, but Dixon beat the throw to give the Lady Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. “We put the squeeze on and Kaitlin did a good job,” Hundley said. “Kaitlin bunted the ball into a perfect position. And Morgan is as fast as anybody. When she gets on (base), you always have a shot to get her home.” Backed by a solid defense, John Hardin junior pitcher Jenna Gachassin (8-12) kept North Hardin off-balance the first six innings, scattering six hits but allowing no runs. She was chased out of the circle in the teams’ first meeting, an 11-2 Trojan win. “It’s tough to go into the last inning thinking you have to go three-up, three-down. Especially against a team like North Hardin,” Hundley said. “I was proud of Jenna to bounce back after that first game against them.” Facing their final three outs – not to mention, the prospect of losing to John Hardin (8-14 overall, 1-7 district) for the first time in school history as well as the prospect of losing out any chance they have left of claiming the No. 1 seed for the five-team, single-elimination district tournament later this month at Elizabethtown – North Hardin finally rallied in the bottom of the seventh. Senior designated hitter Brittany Simmons led off with a single and was replaced on first base by junior Dani Clark. A pair of part-time starters, Blair and junior left fielder Bethany Blaise, followed with back-to-back singles to load the bases. “Everyone has to step up sometime and they did,” Baker said. One out later, Eure’s infield bunt scored Clark, who beat the throw home. One pitch later, Whelan ended an 0-for-3 day at the plate with a single up the middle to score Blair and end the game. With the win, North Hardin (15-10, 6-1) enters Wednesday night’s home showdown with district-leading Central Hardin (15-9, 5-0) with a shot to earn the district tournament’s top seed. Had North Hardin lost on Monday, it would need the Lady Bruins to lose two district games in the next three days. “As far as I’m concerned, 1 or 2 is great,” Baker said. “If we can string hits together and if we play solid defense like we have been, we can be a very solid team. But you now how ‘ifs’ are: They’re big.” NORTH HARDIN 2, JOHN HARDIN 1                                         R     H   E John Hardin   000    100   0   1     1   1 North Hardin 000    000   2   2   10   1 Jenna Gachassin and Kelsey Bennett. Andrea Whelan and Sarah Greenwood. WP: Whelan (9-4). LP: Gachassin (8-12). 2B: Jessie Shartzer (NH). UP NEXT: North Hardin hosts 17th District rival Central Hardin at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. John Hardin plays at Louisville Fairdale at 5:30 p.m. today. Nathaniel Bryan can be reached at 505-1758 or at nbryan@thenewsenterprise.com