McGowan keeps Wooster rolling into 4A semifinals

Nick Christensen

Friday, May 16, 2003 | 10:01 a.m.

In what may be a shocking revelation to anyone who saw Wooster's 2-0 softball win against Palo Verde on Thursday, Colts pitcher Brianne McGowan doesn't think she had a good game to open the 4A State softball tournament.

McGowan struck out 19 of the 25 Palo Verde batters she faced, allowing only two hits and two walks. She also hit a two-run homer in the fourth off Palo Verde's Renee Dipuccio.

"Nineteen strikeouts isn't enough," said McGowan who also down played her homer, because she hit it after two failed bunt attempts.

"I had a good defense, or I would have given up a lot of hits," she added, perhaps not knowing that the Wooster (N-1) defense only contributed two putouts.

McGowan, the two-time Sun state player of the year, went 22-2 with 21 shutouts this season, recording 337 strikeouts and sporting a 0.11 ERA. McGowan also missed two weeks with an ankle injury in the middle of the season, but she showed no ill effects Thursday at Stephanie Lynn Craig Fields.

Palo Verde (SS-3) stepped up to the challenge of facing a pitcher who had only given up three earned runs all year. Dipuccio allowed only three hits in her five innings, striking out nine Wooster batters. Lindsey Callaway pitched the sixth for the Panthers.

But McGowan was still dominant. She struck out the side five times, and three Panthers took a hat trick in strikeouts.

"Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow," said McGowan, who has signed with Oregon State.

Sierra Vista (SS-2), a 1-0 winner in nine innings Thursday against Green Valley (SR-2), gets its shot against the Wooster ace at 3 today.

Silverado attempted a late-inning comeback, scoring two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings, but it wasn't enough to unseat the Lancers. McQueen's Katie Ward got the win. McQueen advances to face Centennial at 3 today.

It appeared they would do the same in the 10th, as the Bulldogs' Amanda McDonald struck out swinging, but Reed's Shayla Cain dropped the ball on the strikeout, allowing Tory Healy to score the winning run in Centennial's opener.

Miller recovered from her earlier rough outing, allowing three runs in pitching all seven innings. Silverado will face the loser of Wooster/Sierra Vista in an elimination game at 5 today.