Hauser’s Haylin Campbell (30), Paige McDaniel (31), Hannah Taylor (10) and Kyra Meister (3) celebrate after winning the regional championship game against Eastern (Pekin) Tuesday at Hauser High School in Hope.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
HOPE — After trailing early in Tuesday night’s regional game, Hauser was dialed in.
The Jets scored three unanswered runs, and there would no denying a third straight softball regional championship as they went on to defeat Eastern (Pekin) 3-1.
Hauser now will face Triton Central, which upset Class 2A No. 10 Union County 4-3 in eight innings, in the Forest Park Semistate at 11 a.m. Saturday. No. 1 North Posey and No. 6 Cascade will follow in the other semifinal, and the semistate championship is set for 7 p.m.
“I’m really excited and happy to go to semistate for my second year in a row, but overall, for the third year in a row,” Hauser sophomore Izzy Brunner said. “I’m really proud with how the way the team has came together this season and pulled through. We keep putting the work in, and we keep getting the results.”
The Musketeers (14-13) broke a scoreless tie in the top of the third when Maleah Blevins reached base on an error and later scored on a single from Kylie Batt for a 1-0 lead.
The Jets (24-7) answered back in the bottom half of the inning after Kylie Mack led off with a single. After two sacrifice bunts moved Mack to third, Brunner slapped a single to tie the game. Hannah Taylor then smacked a triple to bring in Brunner for a 2-1 lead.
Hauser had a long stretch of games during the month of May when it played 11 games in 10 days and ended the regular season finale at 4A No. 2 Columbus North on May 18. Add in playing three sectional games on the road last week and the Memorial Day weekend, the team has played more games than practices.
Hauser added an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth when Paige McDaniel singled and later scored when Maley Jordan hit into a fielder’s choice.
Eastern threatened, putting two runners on in the seventh, but one was picked off second, and another was thrown out at the plate for the final out of the game.
“When you look at how we finished the regular season, they’re beat, they’re worn down. We had a few days off, we had a holiday weekend, I think everyone is getting their feet back underneath of them,” Hauser coach Andy Brunner said. “I don’t feel like we played our best game, but we played good enough to win, good enough to move on. Now we take (today), Thursday and Friday, and we get to cleaning up some stuff in practices and be ready to go Saturday morning.”
Izzy Brunner found the most success against Musketeers pitcher Bracie Jackson by going 3 for 3 for the Jets.
“I walked in the box, and I kept telling myself, ‘I’m going to get a hit, I’m going to get a hit,’ and that got my confidence back up from the sectional championship,” she said. “I really think that was the adjustment I made to produce hits.”
Also for Hauser, Kyra Meister went 2 for 3. Eight of the nine batters in the lineup recorded a hit for the Jets, who outhit Eastern 10-8.
McDaniel earned the win, allowing one run on eight hits with six strikeouts.
The Jets now turn their attention to the semistate and the matchup with Triton Central.
“We’re going to go after the little things (in practice this week) and work on those,” McDaniel said. “Once we get that down, we’ll be good.”
