By Ryan Hines
rhines@dailystandard.com LIMA -- A costly error put an end to the season for the St. Marys softball team, just two innings after a pair of errors by Shawnee kept the Roughriders' season alive.
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning, St. Marys tied the score due to two Shawnee errors, but a dropped routine pop fly on the infield with the bases loaded for an error on the Roughriders in the ninth inning plated the winning run in Division II sectional action at Lima Bath High School.
A pair of one-out singles by Jenny Marsh and Katie Quatman and a two-out walk to Lauren Miller loaded the bases for the top of the Shawnee batting order.
Brooke Schultz, who was 2-for-4 in the game up to that point, hit a high pop up on the left side of the St. Marys infield where third baseman Bailey Enderud was trying to call off her teammates so she could make the final out of the ninth inning.
However, St. Marys shortstop Bailey Smith, just a freshman, came over and tried to make a play on the ball too before the ball dropped to the field allowing Marsh to score the go-ahead run. "This game could have gone either way, we just didn't get the breaks that we needed," said St. Marys head coach Sue Grothause. "It's disappointing when you lose on a routine fly ball and it was just a freshman mistake. You don't like to say that, but she was aggressive and we didn't communicate very well on that one.
"Our third baseman called it out and she didn't even have to move on it, maybe one step and it was her ball," added Grothause.
"You hate to win on a play like that because both teams played so well the rest of the game," said Shawnee head coach Lou Seddelmeyer. "Both girls were right there to make the catch, but I think that they couldn't hear each other because there was a lot of noise. We got a break and we capitalized on it."
Shawnee committed two errors with a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning to extend the game into extra frames.
Leslie Karner reached on an error to start the St. Marys half of the seventh and moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt from Heather Ruffner. Shawnee first baseman Christa Hartsock then took a throw from an infield for what appeared to be the second out of the inning, but the umpire ruled that Hartsock pulled her foot before the out was recorded putting Roughriders on the corners with just one out.
Smith then drove home the tying run with a fly ball to centerfield deep enough to score Karner from third base.
Shawnee scored the first run of the game in the fourth when Lindsey Klein led off with a double and later scored on a groundout by Megan Ream.
Klein, who had two hits in the game was the winning pitcher allowing just four hits in nine innings of work.
"Lindsey did a great job on the mound for us," said Seddelmeyer. "She doesn't strike out too many, but we made the plays defensively when we had to. We were focused tonight and we played well."
Marsh also had a pair of hits along with Klein and Schultz.
Shawnee now advances to Wednesday's (May 10) matchup against top-seeded Lima Bath in tournament action while St. Marys will resume regular-season play Friday at Elida. |
