By Myra Bean
Injuries took their toll on the North Delta pitching staff as they fell 5-1 in the final game of the first round playoffs to Winona Christian Friday night.

Senior pitcher Evan West only pitched to four players for two outs in the first inning before he had to leave the mound.

Jim Tom Copeland pitched in relief until West came back in the seventh inning to end the game.

Thursday night West came in and pitched the extra inning to pick up the 10-9 win for the Green Wave and forced game three.

This was the second game of the week that required an extra inning to win. Winona won last Tuesday 3-2 in an extra inning.

On Thursday at home, North Delta held a 5-1 lead going into the top of the fifth inning. Winona Christian scored two in the fifth and six in the sixth to take a 9-6 lead into the top of the seventh inning.

Behind the pitching of Jim Tom Copeland, who relieved starting pitcher Jim Tyler Dalrymple in the middle of the fifth, the Green Wave held Winona scoreless in the seventh and scored three runs to tie the game 9-9 and force an extra inning.

West struck out the first batter and the defense took care of the other two to keep the score tied.

In the bottom of the eighth under Winona’s new pitcher, Geri Lamm got hit by the pitch to get on base. Dalrymple laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Lamm to second. Josh Garrott grounded out to shortstop, and Lamm was not able to advance to third base.

Dakota Mabry was intentionally walked to put runners at first and second. Bateman Greenlee was hit by a pitch and loaded the bases before West hit a line drive to right center driving home Lamm for the winning run on two outs.

Friday night, the Green Wave was only able to get one run across the plate in the top of the sixth.

Senior right fielder Dakota Mabry scored on a single by West. Mabry had singled to get on base and stole second base to get into scoring position.

The Green Wave ended the season 10-8 after its first playoff appearance in several years.

“I hope it won’t be another 10 years before we are back,” said head coach David Hardy.

Hardy said he was proud the team was able to do something that it had not done in a while – a playoff appearance, a win over a No. 1 ranked team and double-digit regular season wins.

“I felt like it was a nice season,” Hardy added. “It was another step in the right direction.”

Hardy said the fairly young pitching staff with only two seniors graduating, West and Jon Michael Ware, will give rise to two returning pitchers for next year, Dalrymple and Copeland.