ST. LEON — In a game where Shelbyville struggled defensively all night, it was, ironically, a defensive play by the Golden Bears’ pitcher changed the complexion of a very tight first round sectional game against Columbus East Tuesday night.
With the game tied at 8 in the top of the seventh inning and Olympian baserunners on first and second with nobody out, Shelbyville pitcher TeAnn Bringle made a diving catch on a sacrifice bunt attempt by East’s Keagan Nickerson, keeping the baserunners at first and second while getting the first out of the inning. Bringle retired the next two Olympian batters to escape the inning unscathed and the score still tied.
Although East shut down the Golden Bears in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings, Shelbyville came through with a run in the bottom of the eighth to advance to the sectional semifinals with a 9-8 first-round victory.
“Their pitcher made a game-changing play,” East coach Rusty Brummett said. “Not only was it a great play, but that changed the whole inning. If she doesn’t catch it, and they still throw Keagan out at first, we still have runners on second and third with one out and the meat of our lineup coming to bat.”
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It was a battle of different hitting styles all night. The Olympians (10-14) played small ball, bunting, sacrificing, and putting pressure on the Golden Bears’ defense all night. That strategy payed dividends all night, with East scoring four unearned runs on six Shelbyville errors.
“We had a plan coming into the game to play small ball. We worked on getting our bunts down all last week and forcing their defense to execute, and I think it paid off. They beat us 10-0 earlier in the year, so I think we had a good plan,” Brummett said.
On the other side of the diamond, the Golden Bears (20-7) relied on their ability to hit for power. After retiring five of the first six batters she faced, Olympian pitcher Jordan Johnston ran into some trouble in the second. A two-out hit by Morgan Stieneker kept the inning alive. The next batter, Kayleight Phelps drove a pitch over the right-center field fence to tie the game at 2-2.
Shelbyville struck again in the third, and again with two outs. A double, two singles, and a three-run homer by Kaylee Kingston put the Golden Bears up 6-2 in the blink of an eye at the end of three innings.
East, however, didn’t fold. A double by Kendra Pastrick who was 4 for 4 with two doubles, followed by one of Kamryn Cantu’s three hits, started the fourth inning. After Patstick scored on a throwing error, Kaitlin Brummett tripled to right, knocking in Cantu. A fielder’s choice scored Brummett, and the Olympians were back in the game, cutting Shelbyville’s lead to 6-5.
The Golden Bears struck right back in the bottom of the inning, scoring two runs on three hits and walk to extend their lead back to 8-5. That score held until East came up in the bottom of the sixth. Three consecutive singles by Pastrick, Cantu, and Nickerson began the inning. An error on the catcher allowed Pastrick to score. After Nickerson’s single knocked in Cantu, another Golden Bear error allowed Brummett to score the tying run, eventually sending the game to extra innings.
“This group of seniors was my first group that I coached,” Rusty Brummett said. “We won three games my first year, but they stuck it out. I’m very proud of this team and those seniors. They are a great group of girls, and they have worked so hard. Kendra had four hits tonight, and Kamryn had three, so you could tell that they were fighting to the end. For us to reach double-digit wins for two years in a row, you have to go back quite a few years since that has happened.”
