TAUNTON, Mass. - It was the least likely hero that stepped up and ended the game. Shannon Grindle had been 0-5 with three strikeouts when she stepped to the plate in the bottom of the 11th inning with the winning run standing on second base.
It had been unlikely for the Lakers to even be in this position. Silver Lake had trailed 5-0 with just nine outs remaining in the game and gave up an insurance run in the top of the seventh that left them needing two runs to send it to extras.
Grindle dug in and most were expecting KP starter Kali Magane to finish off the inning and send the game to the 12th, but the Lakers junior captain got hold of an outside corner pitch and crushed it to right center. KP centerfielder Christa Wagner went racing after it and leaped into the fence in an effort to get to it but it cleared the fence and the fans and ended the game.
Silver Lake walked off with an 8-6, 11-inning victory over the Warriors and advanced to the sectional final to “host” Taunton at the Jack Tripp Field on Saturday.
“We tried and gave it 100 percent,” said KP coach Norm Beauchemin. “If you told me that we were going to score six runs then just give us the ‘W,’ but unfortunately it didn’t happen today.”
The Warriors put the pressure on the Lakers right from the start with leadoff hitter Christa Wagner starting the game with a single off the glove of the third baseman. Maddie O’Gryzek bunted and reached on an error. On a double steal, the ball was thrown into left and Wagner came around to score.
Magane followed with a grounder to third but O’Gryzek was chopped down at the plate. It would be the first of two baserunners that KP had thrown out at home.
The game was broken open in the top of the third. Again it was Wagner that started the inning off and she reached on an error. O’Gryzek followed with a bunt single with Wagner flying to third and scoring when the ball was thrown away by the catcher. Magane doubled to center to bring in O’Gryzek and would come in to score on a wild pitch. Two batters later, with the bases empty, designated player Caeli Bench ripped a homer to left and it was 5-0 KP.
The Warriors looked to have the game firmly in control with Magane battling in the circle. She managed to escape jams in the first and the fourth innings and had eight strikeouts when she toed the rubber for the fifth.
That is where things started to spiral. A single, a pop up and a double left two runners in scoring position with one out. Magane walked her counterpart Madi Barone to load the bases and then immediately walked Hannah Johnson to bring in a run. After a strikeout, Magane walked in a second run and then Jen Riordan lined a single that brought in two and cut the lead to just one.
“You keep the other team hanging around and it’s coming to come back to bite you sooner or later,” said Beauchemin.
In the sixth, KP got a one-out single from Jennifer Hutnyan, who was pinch run for by freshman Sydney Phillips, and then a double to left by her sister, senior captain Casey, but rather than holding the runner at third and keeping two in scoring position with one out, Beauchemin waved Phillips around. The Lakers made a perfect relay and the pinch runner stood no chance at the plate.
“They made some nice defensive plays and threw a couple of our kids out at the plate,” explained Beauchemin. “We’re going to challenge and those were strong throws right to the catcher.”
With Poirier warming up in the bullpen, Magane tossed a perfect sixth on three grounders. In the top of the seventh, Wagner tripled to the fence in center and scored on a single by O’Gryzek. Beauchemin decided to let Magane try to close out the game.
Barone and Johnson each singled to start the inning, but Grindle lined a hard shot to short that Ashley Hession was able to knock down and have the presence of mind to get the lead runner. At that point, Beauchemin brought in Poirier, but the senior captain was clearly not right and walked the only two batters she faced, one of which brought in a run, before KP went right back to Magane.
“If [Kali] had struggled in the sixth then Renee was coming in, but she had such a good sixth inning that I felt she at least deserved to come out in the seventh,” said Beuchemin.
He added, “Renee had walked only one girl all year, so I had a lot of confidence in her. Unfortunately, she just didn’t have it. She was aiming the ball not even throwing.”
Magane’s first pitch on her return was in the dirt and that brought in the tying run and sent it to extras. The Warriors put two runners in scoring position with no outs in the eighth and could not score a run. They would not get another base runner in the game.
Meanwhile, the Warriors were flashing the leather, especially Hession, who was putting on a show at short.
After a lead-off double in the ninth, Grindle hit a hard shot to Hession who turned and tagged a surprised base runner before firing to first for the double play. In the 10th, she dove towards the circle to snag a soft liner. Brianna Sebio ended the inning with an equally good sliding catch in right to end the inning.
“Everybody talks about how bad we are defensively; obviously they don’t go to a lot of our games,” said Beauchemin, who added about Hession, “Spectacular player and she’s a dirt bag too -- loves to get dirty.”
In the 11th, Barone singled to center with one out and advanced to second on a ground out. Grindle came up with the winning run at second and with one swing turned a game to forget into one she will always remember.
Josh Perry can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10.