Paige McDaniel
HOPE — It took a couple times through the batting order, but the Hauser bats finally responded.
Trailing by a run heading into the bottom of the fifth, the Jets came alive. Izzy Brunner delivered the game-tying RBI single, and Maley Jordan, Kyra Meister and Paige McDaniel collected key hits that kept the rally going to score four runs and come away with a 4-1 comeback softball win over visiting East Central Wednesday night.
“Izzy has been the most consistent and impactful hitter we have this year and had been struggling a little bit the last couple days, but as usual, she figured it out,” Hauser coach Andy Brunner said. “She knows how to lift her teammates and give her team everything she’s got.”
The rally started for the Jets (20-6) when Lucie Asher bunted, but the third baseman tried to grab the ball with her bare hand and missed the grab initially to put Asher safe on first. After Asher stole second, Izzy Brunner smacked a single that scored Asher and tie the game at 1-1.
That hit sparked the rally when Jordan singled to put runners on first and second. Meister then singled to plate the go-ahead run, and Paige McDaniel smacked a double that went to the fence to score two more runs as insurance.
“The hits were contagious. As more people were seeing it, we picked up some confidence,” Meister said. “We started seeing the ball better and putting it in play.”
McDaniel went the distance in the circle, allowing one run on five hits with two strikeouts. At the plate, she was 3 for 3 with a double and two RBIs.
Izzy Brunner, Hannah Taylor, Reagan Johnson, Jordan and Meister all collected singles.
“Paige did an incredible job on the mound controlling the ball. It took some of their batters a while to figure her out, and some of them never did, which is the name of the game for her,” Andy Brunner said. “It was an awesome team win and finish strong at home. We carry this into next week. It will serve us well.”
Hauser wraps up the regular season today when it travels across the county to take on one of the top teams in the state in Columbus North. The Jets will have finished the regular season playing 11 games in 10 days, and will get a short breather before they start postseason play on Tuesday against Switzerland County in the Class 2A Brownstown Central Sectional.
