Broncos Walk it off Twice in Home Opener
(Hastings, NE) – Making their long-awaited home debut of the season, the Hastings softball team rallied from a 1-0 deficit in the tenth to walk it off and win 2-1 in game one, then after trailing 3-0 in the sixth and 5-4 in the seventh, they walked it off again in the seventh to win, 6-5.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final (10) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
|
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 4 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 5 |
(Hastings, NE) – Making their long-awaited home debut of the season, the Hastings softball team rallied from a 1-0 deficit in the tenth to walk it off and win 2-1 in game one, then after trailing 3-0 in the sixth and 5-4 in the seventh, they walked it off again in the seventh to win, 6-5.
Both pitchers put on fantastic performances in game one, each pitching scoreless innings through the first nine. Hastings had runners in scoring position in each of the first three innings, including second and third with two out in the second, but Briar Cliff kept the game scoreless.
Hastings appeared to be primed to score in the sixth, as senior Lauren Schneider opened the inning with a single to right and junior Lauren Lee walked with one out to put runners on first and second. Junior Ana Medeiros laced one to left and Schneider was waved home, but a perfect throw from the Charger left fielder got the sliding Schneider at the plate. With two away, a flyout ended the Bronco half inning.
Junior pitcher Kiera Brack allowed just two hits through the first six innings. The Chargers singled with one out in the seventh and stole second, but Brack retired the next two batters to get out of the inning.
Both teams had chances to score in the ninth with each of the teams' leadoff hitters reaching in the inning. Brack responded well after a sac bunt moved the runner to second by enticing two ground outs. Hastings was caught stealing with their runner on first, eventually sending the game to a tenth inning still deadlocked at zero.
With both teams beginning the inning with a runner on second per NAIA rules, Briar Cliff executed a sac bunt to move the runner to third and a groundout scored the unearned run to put the Chargers up 1-0.
Hastings went a similar route by having senior Nicole Halsey bunt senior Shey Storesund over to third. Senior Isabel Tanabe grounded one up the middle to score Halsey easily, then after Tanabe stole second, Schneider and sophomore Kaylee Pinneo put together some great at-bats to earn walks and load the bases with one out.
Lee came up next looking to walk it off and she drilled one past the diving Charger shortstop into left field to score Tanabe and give Hastings the 2-1 comeback victory.
Brack pitched a terrific game, going all 10 innings and allowing just the one unearned run in the tenth on five hits. She threw 114 pitches in the game, striking out eight Chargers. Pinneo and Medeiros each recorded two hits in the game.
Game two started with three quick outs from senior pitcher Angelina Lockhart and Pinneo hit a ground rule double in the bottom half of the inning, but Briar Cliff was able to keep it scoreless. Briar Cliff got their first run with the leadoff batter reaching on an error, taking second on a wild pitch, then taking third on a ground out and went home on a sac bunt to go up 1-0.
The Chargers added two more in the fourth as the first four batters reached, leading to the 3-0 lead. Hastings had a chance to respond in the bottom half of the inning by senior Lexie Mudloff reaching first on a two-out Charger error and junior Katyn Kappler hit a ground-rule double to put two in scoring position, but a flyout stranded the runners.
The bottom of the sixth turned the game in Hastings favor, as Lee walked to open the inning and Mudloff doubled with one out, setting up an RBI single from Kappler and freshman Sophia Carroll hit a sac fly to right to cut the deficit to 3-2. Storesund chopped one to second to bring home Kappler from third and Tanabe lined a double to put Hastings ahead, 4-3, going to the seventh.
Hastings struck out the first two batters, but a single and a two-run home run put the Chargers back up, 5-4, going to the last half inning.
Briar Cliff forced a ground out to begin the seventh, but Pinneo dropped one into right field and with Halsey pinch-running, Lee walked. Medeiros hit a ground ball to short to get the out at second, but the throw was slightly off the mark, allowing Medeiros to reach first safely and score Halsey from second, now with two outs, tied at five.
Mudloff singled to right and Kappler walked to load the bases for Carroll, who hit a roller to short and the throw was not in time, as Medeiros scored the game-winning run to win, 6-5.
Hastings had four players record two hits, coming from Kappler, Storesund, Pinneo, and Mudloff. Carroll came through with two RBIs to lead the way for Hastings, including the walk-off.
Up next, Hastings will host Northwestern in a doubleheader tomorrow beginning at 10am at Smith Softball Complex.
