SALEM, Va. – Trailing by a run in the bottom of the sixth, West Texas A&M third baseman and NFCA All-American Jessica Sipe delivered a clutch, two-RBI single to left, leading the Lady Buffs past Armstrong Atlantic, 6-5, in a winner’s bracket match-up at the NCAA Division II Softball Championship in Salem, Va..
The powerful offense of WT A&M managed just five hits in the contest, but made the most of those in totaling the six runs. Sipe was 1-for-4 with the huge two-RBI base knock, while fellow NFCA All-American right fielder Renee Erwin blasted a first-inning, three-run HR as part of a 1-for-1 effort with three walks.
“Well, I’m not saying anything this group doesn’t know,” West Texas A&M head coach Kevin Blaskowski said. “We didn’t play very well and made some defensive mistakes. I thought we were a little tight at the plate. We played a very good Armstrong Atlantic team that swings the bat well. We came out and got an early lead. Give credit to Renee (Erwin) for a big swing in the first inning to get us the lead back. We just fought and scratched and Rita (Hokianga) did a great job at keeping it close from the circle.”
Three Pirates recorded at least two hits in the match-up, led by shortstop Alexis Mercer as the NFCA All-American went 2-for-3 with a pair of HR’s and three RBIs. Right fielder Peyton Roth and center fielder Andrea Dalton each went 2-for-4, while first baseman Hannah Reppert knocked in two tallies despite a 0-for-4 performance.
Rita Hokianga (27-3) earned the victory in relief for West Texas A&M, allowing one earned run on three hits with five strikeouts over 4.2 innings. Taking the loss for Armstrong was Ollivia McLemore (25-7) as she allowed three earned tallies on five hits in six frames.
Armstrong wasted no time getting its offense untracked against the high-powered Lady Buffs, plating a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Pirate leadoff hitter Mercer drove the second pitch she received from Newcomb over the wall in right center for a 1-0 lead. It marked her Peach Belt Conference single-season record 24th big fly of the 2014 campaign. Right fielder Peyton Roth singled on the infield and following on a fielding error to short, advanced to third as AASU owned runners on the corners with no outs. First baseman Hannah Reppert followed with a groundout to third as Roth crossed the dish with an unearned run for a 2-0 advantage.
Searching for an immediate answer, West Texas A&M shortstop Alyssa Lemos christened the bottom of the first by lacing a single that dropped just in front of the AASU left fielder. Center fielder Tyler Wilkinson was hit by an offering from Armstrong’s McLemore, putting a pair on the base paths. That set the stage for one of WT A&M’s NFCA All-Americans to deliver as Erwin crushed a towering HR down the right field line, granting the Lady Buffs a 3-2 lead with still no one retired. After a strikeout and an infield pop-up, McLemore walked the bases loaded with consecutive free passes issued to first baseman Allie Cranfill, designated player Mallory Wyatt and catcher Lacey Taylor. Second baseman Brittany Gehle stepped to the dish and hit a short pop that dropped just in front of Armstrong second baseman Kat Vogler. The fielder managed to corral the ball while on her knees, tossing on to first for the out to get the Pirates out of a major first-inning jam.
An infield single by Roth, a base knock to left from center fielder Andrea Dalton and a miscue on that play got the Pirate offense back in business during the top of the third. With a pair in scoring position and one out, West Texas A&M made a call to the bullpen removing Newcomb in favor of NFCA All-American Hokianga. Reppert stepped in against the new hurler and ripped a shot to Gehle who was playing in while trying to prevent the runner at third from scoring. Unfortunately for the second baseman, she briefly bobbled the ball, allowing Roth to race home and deadlock the score at 3-3.
The slugfest continued into the bottom of the third as West Texas A&M got another scoring threat underway against McLemore. Sipe reached on a fielding miscue in center to open the frame, advancing to third on a one-out double down the right field line off the bat of Wyatt. Taylor hit a slow roller up the first base line that turned into the second out of the inning. On the play, however, Sipe managed to slide under the tag on a throw home as the Lady Buffs grabbed back the advantage at 4-3.
With third baseman Kacie Patterson on base thanks to a WT A&M error at second, Mercer struck again during the top of the fourth by driving a one-out Hokianga pitch over the fence in left for her 25th HR of the season and a 5-4 Armstrong lead.
Still in need of a run in the bottom of the sixth, West Texas A&M managed a leadoff base runner as Gehle reached on a dropped fly ball in right. With one out Wilkinson singled to right, moving her teammate to third as the dangerous Erwin stepped to the dish in a huge spot. The All-American walked to pack the bags full of Lady Buffs with the four and five hitters coming up and an opportunity to blow the game open. McLemore proved up to the challenge, striking out left fielder Kaisha Dacosin. Unfortunately for her, Sipe stepped in as the last chance to give the Lady Buffs the lead and came through, lacing a single just inside fair territory, plating two unearned runs as WT A&M nabbed a 6-5 lead.
Starting the top of the seventh, Reppert came exceptionally close to tying the score for the Pirates as her drive to center field was tracked down by Wilkinson at the base of the wall. Hokianga punched out Vogler on a rise ball before walking Haley Ellis with two outs. That free pass proved to be the last gasp for Armstrong as Heather Ellis went down swinging on a rise ball to end the contest.
