The Sheldon Irish outlasted the Sherwood Bowmen in a 2-0 victory between two of the top softball teams in Oregon’s Class 6A. This matchup turned into a high-level pitching duel between the Irish’s Payton Burnham and the Bowmen’s Faith McHill.
The two pitchers combined for 26 strikeouts with McHill having 11 and Burnham striking out 15 Bowmen batters in a near no-hitter performance.
Sheldon assistant coach Kim Strahm couldn’t have been more impressed with Burnham’s game which included seven consecutive strikeouts.
“Payton is just dominating,” said Strahm, who stepped into the head coach’s shoes for the game as Mike Faulconer did not make the trip due to an illness. “She was pumped up because she knew this was a big game for us and it showed in her performance.”
Witnessing this pitching duel didn’t phase Strahm as she expected this from a playoff contender like Sherwood. She told her team that one run could be the difference between a win and a loss.
“You see this a lot as you get into the playoffs,” she said about Tuesday’s game. “You see that a lot in the playoffs and sometimes softball games are one run and sometimes that is all it takes.”
With only allowing her only hit in the seventh inning, Burnham has been spearheading the Irish’s overwhelming defense.
This is the 16th time this season that Sheldon has shut out their opponent this season.
Burnham has credited this team’s chemistry for their defense that has only allowed 17 runs this year.
“Everybody is doing something,” said the senior. “There’s not a game I think that we haven’t like played as a team on defense.”
This team defense was on full display in the final inning. The Irish completed a double play off a bunt by Sherwood’s Daisha Cornwell to secure the shutout win.
With their defense, the Irish play very methodically on offense whether it be trying to hit it out of the park or hit singles.
Sheldon’s Brooke Peterson recorded a run in the fourth inning and helped set up her teammate Kinley Pappas for a sac fly in the sixth.
Peterson, a transfer from Churchill, has been an invaluable part of the Irish in her first season.
“(Brooke) is a competitor and she’s literally ready for every opportunity to be involved in the game,” said Strahm about her junior third basemen. “She is softball savvy, she’s a coach on the field and she just knows where to be at all times.”
Burnham couldn’t have agreed more about Peterson’s impact on the team.
“She’s one of those people that you want up in the big moments,” said Burnham about Peterson. “She is someone you want behind you in the field and she always comes through and if she doesn’t, she makes sure it doesn’t happen again.”
With confidence from her coaches and teammates, Peterson feels that this win against a high-caliber team like Sherwood is helping her team round into form.
“We’re really putting out our best right now and we’re playing phenomenal,” said Peterson about this win. “I was excited to see everyone at the beginning with our own talents, but now we’re putting them together and we’re getting these great plays out.”
The junior feels that this team “thrives” in close game situations and that the playoffs will be the perfect environment for this top-ranked team.
“We have the most fun when it comes to close competition,” she said. “We all like to dial in and we get the job done and we have fun doing it.”
