Lackland Air Force Base, Texas –
A clutch hit by their cleanup hitter lifted the Lackland Lady Warhawks Varsity Softball Team to a close win last week.
With a tie score and two out and the potential winning run on second base, Lackland first baseman Catrina Harden slugged a pitch into center field to give the Warhawks an 8-7 victory over the San Antonio Aces on May 3 at the Alva Jo Fischer Memorial Softball Complex.
The walk-off win during the bottom of the seventh inning gave the Warhawks their third-straight victory, as well as a 6-5 record in the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Spring Softball League. And, the late-inning win by Lackland made up for a 21-6 loss to the Aces early last month.
"We're on a good streak right now," said Megan Schafer, the Warhawks assistant coach and infielder. "The same teams that beat us during the beginning of the year - we're giving them a run for their money now."
Lackland came up to bat in the seventh trailing 7-5. Every batter contributed something to keep the Warhawks alive and ultimately put them into the win column.
Right fielder Lyndsay Moen led off the seventh with a single. Second baseman Melia Sherman followed and flew out to deep right field. The ball was far enough to allow Moen to advance to second base.
Next, extra hitter Mari Hamilton smacked the ball into center field. Moen scored. Hamilton scooted to third base with a triple.
With Lackland trailing by one run, pitcher Bobbi Russell singled Hamilton home to even the score at 7. The Aces proceeded to force out Russell at second base on a grounder hit by left-center fielder Christy Hayes. However, there was no chance for a double play to end the game, because Hayes hustled down the first- base line and reached the bag safely. With two out, pinch hitter Rhonda Jeter singled to send Hayes to second.
Then, Harden came up. She was the fourth batter in the Lackland lineup and the very person the Warhawks needed most at that time to step into the batter's box. Indeed, the presence of the right-handed power hitter at home plate prompted the entire Aces infield to meet on the pitcher's mound.
"I thought they were going to walk me," Harden said. "I heard them talking about it."
Yet, the Aces decided to challenge Harden, and that worked very well for the Warhawks, because Harden leaped on the first pitch with a big solid swing, and the ball went soaring into center field.
"It was a perfect pitch - right down the middle," Harden recalled.
While the ball landed and rolled toward the fence, Hayes sprinted easily around the bases to score the game-winning run. Even players from other rival teams who watched the Warhawks win from the grandstand gave Harden high fives and a thumbs-up for her game-winning hit.
Altogether, the Warhawks tallied 22 hits.
Harden ended up going 3-for-4. Also for Lackland, Russell went 3-for-4 and scored two runs. Hayes went 3-for-3. Both third baseman Audra Britt and left fielder Tina Cooper went 2-for-3 and scored one run. Catcher Nikki Chachere went 2-for-3 with a double and a triple. Both Hamilton and Sherman went 2-for-3. Both Moen and Schafer went 1-for-3. Jeter singled during her lone appearance at the plate.
Also, last weekend in College Station, the Warhawks went 2-2 in the Budweiser "Budfest" Softball Tournament against teams from Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana.