Some are so cool under pressure that, even in the most tense of moments, they appear placid and cool on the exterior.
D’Evelyn senior Kendal Bergman isn’t one of those, but don’t fault her for it.
Bergman is the other extreme, one whose very being seems to twist and contort with every key play, as she exhibited Tuesday at the conclusion of the Class 4A No. 1-ranked Jaguars’ 2-1 nonleague home win against 5A Chatfield.
Bergman, usually a first baseman who is taking on the pitching load while regular starter Holly Reinke recovers from a back injury, was visibly relieved and clutching at her heart after the final out safely landed in the glove of center fielder Sheridan Porter.
“I thought it was going to take a diving play or something,” Bergman said of pinch-hitter Andi McAninch’s floater to center field that initially appeared set to drop for a tying RBI single. “But I knew Sheridan could get it done.”
Bergman had good reason for the jitters after Saturday’s come-from-ahead loss at Dakota Ridge, when the Jaguars (3-1) watched a late 2-0 lead transform into a 3-2 loss.
“Having to lose like that, I did not want to do that again,” Bergman said.
Bergman struck out six batters in a complete-game performance and also came through with the key at-bat. With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, she laced a ball to the right side that got through the legs of a Chatfield infielder and allowed Shannon McKenna to score the go-ahead run from second base.
“Our girls are right in the mix. It’s just a question of who’s going to show up,” said Chatfield first-year coach Nicole Janssen. “We’re having a problem with consistency right now.”
Chatfield (4-5), aiming for a top-three finish in a 5A Jefferson County League that’s more wide open than usual, grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on an RBI single from Quinn Dentino. D’Evelyn got the run back in the bottom of the second on a run-scoring single by No. 9 hitter Miranda Wilson.
Chargers shortstop Carly Sexton went 3-for-4, including a double in the seventh. She was stranded on second when — much to Bergman’s relief — Porter corralled the final out.
Chatfield 100 000 0 — 1 7 2
D’Evelyn 010 010 x — 2 6 1
Chatfield — Fritze cf 4-0-0-0, Vangulick rf-2b 4-1-1-0, Sexton ss 4-0-3-0, Dentino lf-c 3-0-1-1, Mintz p-rf 3-0-0-0, Saunders 1b 1-0-0-0, McAninch ph 1-0-0-0, Davis 3b 3-0-0-0, Blair dh 2-0-0-0, McGinness ph 1-0-1-0, Quintana 2b-p 3-0-1-0, Krempa c 0-0-0-0. Totals 29-1-7-1.
D’Evelyn — McKenna ss 3-1-1-0, Day 1b 2-0-0-0, Reinke dh 3-0-1-0, Bergman p 3-0-1-0, S. Porter cf 3-0-0-0, Porreco rf 3-0-0-0, Nicholson c 3-0-2-0, Riggs cr 0-1-0-0, C. Porter 2b 3-0-0-0, M. Wilson lf 2-0-1-1. Totals 25-2-6-1.
E — Fritze, Saunders, McKenna. LOB — Chatfield 11, D’Evelyn 6. 2B — Sexton, McGinness. SB — McKenna, Porter, M. Wilson. HBP — Dentino (by Bergman), Day (by Mintz).
Batteries — Mintz, Quintana (5) and Krempa, Dentino (6); Bergman and Nicholson. W — Bergman (2-1). L — Quintana (0-1). T — 1:31.
