Perfection: Cassadaga Valley pitcher throws perfect game against Forestville
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OBSERVER Staff Report
SINCLAIRVILLE -- Brittyn LeBaron knew that Friday would be her day to shine in the circle. Despite recent struggles heading into the toughest matchup of the year to date, LeBaron told her coach, Ken Balling, "I've got it," during school earlier in the day.
She was right.
LeBaron pitched the game of her life on Friday -- a perfect game with 10 strikeouts -- to lead the undefeated Cassadaga Valley Lady Cougars to victory over Forestville, 2-0, in a CCAA Division 2 West high school softball game.
Cassadaga Valley (6-0, 3-0) had not had a perfect game since 2004, when Alicia Morley had back-to-back perfect games for Balling's Lady Cougars. Now, 14 years later, Balling witnessed another, in a thrilling game against a challenging league foe in Forestville.
"Take nothing away from Forestville, they're no slouch. They have a great lineup with a lot of great hitters, and their pitcher was great, too," said Balling. "But this was something special."
Forestville's Brooke Ostrye pitched a complete game, two-hitter of her own, with 12 strikeouts. After the first inning, she only allowed one walk and one hit, a double to LeBaron in the fifth inning.
But the two-run first inning, highlighted by a two-run single by Holly Crandall, was more than enough for LeBaron on Friday.
"Brittyn pitched really well for us down in Myrtle Beach," said Balling. "But lately, I felt like something just wasn't quite right. I don't know if it was the cold, or what it was, honestly, but she told me today that she had it figured out. … She was right. It was unbelievable."
What makes it even more impressive was the team she faced. Ostrye pitched a dominant game for Forestville (4-3, 2-1) and the Lady Hornets came in undefeated in league play, as well.
"I knew this was going to be a big game," said Balling. "We were both 2-0 in league coming in. … It certainly was a pitchers' duel. Brittyn was just unhittable."
Cassadaga Valley puts its perfect record on the line again, in another league game, on the road against Panama on Monday.