Peters’ bomb takes ESU to round 2
Nathan Wright, Special to the Gazette
Saturday, May 9, 2009
SAN ANGELO, Texas — Jill Peters hit a walkoff home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Emporia State a 3-2 victory over Nebraska-Omaha in the first round of the South Central Regional softball tournament Friday at the ASU Softball Complex.
Peters’ one-out solo shot sent the Hornets (43-14) to a winner’s bracket game today against Angelo State, a 10-5 winner over St. Edward’s, at 2 p.m. Nebraska-Omaha (43-16) will have to battle back through the loser’s bracket.
It was the Hornets’ third win over the Mavericks in less than a week. Emporia State defeated Nebraska-Omaha twice last Sunday to win the MIAA tournament.
“You don’t want to go 10 innings in 100-degree weather, but we stuck in there and played real hard,” Emporia State head coach Kristi Bredbenner said. “We had a lot of good at-bats and good pitching. We got it done there at the end, and that is what you have to do to start off the weekend.”
After each team scored a run in the third and then again in the fourth, the game turned into a pitcher’s duel. After seven complete innings, the game was still tied and remained that way until the 10th.
Abby Smith led off the inning with a groundout. Then Peters stepped up to the plate and delivered the winning blow.
“It felt great,” Peters said. “Hitting a home run isn’t something you plan on. You go up there and swing hard and whatever happens happens. I got lucky today and got it done.”
The game was scoreless through the first two innings. The Mavericks got on the scoreboard first in the top of the third. With the bases loaded and two outs, Amanda Baker was hit by a pitch, forcing in the first run of the game as Treigh Yates scored.
The Hornets answered in the bottom of the inning. Jenna Potter led off with a double and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Yates. Potter then scored on a sacrifice fly by Angela Mahan to tie the game at 1-1.
The Mavericks retook the lead in the top of the fourth. Kris Meneely singled to lead off the inning. Pinch runner Katel Hinton was sacrificed to second on a bunt by Emma Wright and then advanced to third on a sacrifice fly by Ashley Lynch.
After Yates walked, Molly Feichtinger singled Meneely home to give Nebraska-Omaha a 3-2 lead.
ESU again tied the game in the bottom of the inning. With one out, Peters and Potter hit back-to-back doubles. Potter’s hit scored Peters to make it 3-3.
Megan Dennis (23-7) picked up the win on the mound for Emporia State. She went all 10 innings, allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out six. She allowed only one hit after the fifth inning, a double by Omaha-Nebraska’s Jenna Dell in the top of the 10th.
“We hit really well today,” Dennis said. “We made defensive plays.”
Nebraska-Omaha used three pitchers in the contest. Lindsey Slocum (14-3) took the loss after coming on in the ninth and giving up the homer to Peters in the 10th.
The Hornets are now just two wins away from returning to the NCAA Division II World Series, where they finished second to Humboldt State last year.
Emporia State and Angelo State have met eight times before, with both teams winning four games. The two teams split a pair of two-run games last season.
Friday at San Angelo, Texas
Neb-Omaha (43-16) 001 100 000 0 — 2 7 0
Emporia St. (43-14) 001 100 000 1 — 3 11 2
WP — Dennis (23-7). LP — Slocum (14-3).
E — ESU: Mahan, Brattin. LOB — UNO 9; ESU 12. 2B — UNO: Dell, Meneely; ESU: Dace, Peters, Potter 2. 3B — ESU: Hughes. HR — ESU: Peters. HBP — UNO: Bader. SH — UNO: Yates, Feichtinger, Bader, Wright; ESU: Hughes, Brattin, Smith, Ketter. SF — ESU: Mahan. SB — ESU: Hughes, Campbell. CS — UNO: Wright.