St Marys catcher Brylee McGrady goes after a foul ball during the Blue Devils’ Region I Game 1 loss to Wheeling Central Catholic on Monday from St. Marys. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

ST. MARYS — A coldspell with the bats the past three weeks of the season has left little room for error for the St. Marys softball team.

Monday night at St. Marys High School in the first game in the best-of-three Region 1 format, Wheeling Central senior Jocelyn Shaw’s three-run homer in the top of the sixth inning proved to be the eventual game winner as the Maroon Knights stunned St. Marys, 3-1.

The two teams turn to Game 2 set for today in Wheeling with the Blue Devils needing a win in each of the next two days.

“I told the kids there are a lot of silver linings in this gray cloud that is hanging,” said Riggs after her Blue Devils fell to 26-4. “We have to go and come out Tuesday looking like the St. Marys of mid-season and not the St. Marys of the last three weeks. We have just went cold. That is all there is to it.

“Defense is still stellar and pitching is still good. That’s not a problem, but it’s our bats. We are very capable. We just aren’t right now.”

Ella Smith, the lone senior on the Blue Devil roster, gave her club 5 1-3 innings, and took the loss after allowing just four hits while walking five.

Smith’s counterpart, Wheeling Central sophomore Josie Frizzell, was greeted with a solo homer from Blue Devils’ Zoey Winland as the second batter in the home half of the first inning. From that point, Frizzell surrendered just three singles and walked just two batters. She also struck out seven.

“I say that all the time, you let a team hang around and you are going to get bit,” Riggs said.

“I told the girls in the fourth or fifth inning I’m not comfortable with a one-run lead. We were getting to the top of our order – we had to do something. And we didn’t.”

St. Marys had a sense what Frizzell offered after the Blue Devils defeated Wheeling Central 8-0 in five innings in their only meeting of the regular season.

“The longer we hung around, the better chance we had,” Wheeling Central coach Buck Davidson said after his Maroon Knights improved to 20-4. “Frizzell’s composure was great. She got a little hyped up there in the seventh inning and walked a girl. But she pulled it together and made the pitches when she had to.”

In that pivotal sixth inning, Shaw stepped to the plate with one out and runners on second and third base. Taylor Knollinger led off with a base hit then advanced to third on a Brooklyn edge double which sailed over the center fielder’s head.

St. Marys protected the 1-0 lead for one more batter when Maroon Knights cleanup hitter chopped a ball down the third line and fielded by Winland, who turned around and flipped to shortstop Breanna Price covering third base.

A passed ball allowed the two baserunners to advance to second and third base. Shaw then took a Smith offering over the left field fence.

“I saw Brooklyn standing at third base, we looked at one another – I nodded and we just knew it was gone,” Shaw said. “When I hit it, it felt so natural. My teammates prayed for me in the outfield.

“We are so ecstatic. Last year, we had a bad end to the season and to come back this year and get the first game at regionals … there is no way to explain it.”

St. Marys reliever Cali Masters tempered the rally, striking out two of the three batters she faced to end the inning. Masters also retired the side in order in the seventh inning to keep St. Marys within range.

In their final at-bat, Brylee McGrady’s only plate appearance resulted in a lead-off single. A soft liner to the first baseman followed by a strikeout turned the lineup back to the top with two outs and a runner at first. Price walked to put the potential tying run on base and the possible game-winning run at the plate.

Frizzell, however, thwarted St. Marys’ hopes with a strikeout to end the game.

“Our bats have been cold the last few games – that’s all there is to it,” Riggs said. “I’m real confident about (Tuesday) because if we can get our heads together and correct our mistakes we can work with it. I think we will be OK.

“We didn’t want this. We didn’t want an extended series. Now we just have to go with it.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com