EDINBURGH — Hauser sophomore Hannah Taylor couldn’t have picked a more perfect time to deliver her first home run of her high school career.
In the top of the sixth inning, Taylor made hard contact with the ball, and there was no question the ball was gone as it sailed over the fence in center field for three-run home run that proved to be the difference maker in the Jets’ 10-7 win at Edinburgh in the Class A softball regional final Tuesday night.
“It was awesome. As soon it got off my bat, I knew it was gone,” Taylor said.
Hauser (25-4), which won its first regional since 2018, moves on to take on Clay City in the semifinal round of the Class A North Daviess semistate at around 1 p.m. on Saturday.
“It feels awesome. I can’t stop smiling right now,” Taylor said. “I almost cried, and I usually don’t cry tears of joy, but I was about to.”
The regional title didn’t come easy for Hauser. The Lancers (16-11) threw everything in their arsenal at pulling off the upset. It almost worked, and they made the Jets fight in every at-bat, pitch and defensive play in the field to earn the win.
Hauser senior Hannah Johnson said it feels great winning regional and getting back to semistate after the high school season was canceled last year due to COVID-19.
“It’s crazy. It was a really good game. There was a lot of energy from both teams, and it’s really nice to be back after a year off,” Johnson said.
The Jets looked like they’d be in control early on when Kyra Meister led off the game with a triple and scored on a Taylor single. After a fielder’s choice and error put runners at the corners, Dani Steward smacked a double to score two more runs for a 3-0 lead.
Edinburgh got a run back in the bottom half of the inning, and eventually took the lead when MacKenzie Bieker smacked a three-run home run to right center field to take a 4-3 lead.
Hauser came right back in the top of the second when Hannah Johnson walked and Morgan Bottoms singled. Meister drove in a run to tie the game, and Taylor drove in two runs with a double to retake the lead at 6-4.
The Lancers weren’t done yet. In the bottom of the third, Gracie Crawhorn and Bieker reached base with singleds, and Catey Streeval hit a three-run home run to retake the lead at 7-6.
The Jets tied it at 7-7 in the top of the fifth when Reagan Johnson doubled and scored on a Kylie Mack single. That would set up Taylor’s game winner in the sixth.
“That was the team that I expected to play,” Hauser coach Andy Brunner said. “Hats off to (Edinburgh coach) Ben (Taylor) and his staff and those girls. They have completely turned their program on full force. What a great team. What a great game. I could not be more proud of these Jets. These girls have worked so hard. I threw every card on the table tonight. Wow! What a game! If you can’t get excited about a game like that, you need to check yourself for a pulse. That was fun.”
“Hannah’s one of the best hitters I’ve ever seen. She has the ability to take all styles of pitching and put the ball in play,” Brunner added. “That was her first home run of the season, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.”
