Thaise Jessup
Thaise Jessup came through in the clutch for the Columbus East softball team Wednesday night.
The freshman catcher came through with two huge hits that would tie the game and then knock in the winning run in eighth inning to give the Olympians a 6-5 walkoff win against Bloomington South.
East trailed 5-3 with two out in the bottom of the sixth inning . Jessup blasted a double to left field to tie it at 5-5 and eventually send the game to extra innings.
In the bottom of the eighth , Lola Watkins smacked a two-out double to center field. A passed ball advanced Watkins to third. That allowed Jessup to slap the ball down the left field line to drive in Watkins for the game-winning run.
“Actually Lola Watkins came up to me (earlier) and said, ‘Just trust in God’ and I said, ‘God’s got me,’ and I feel like that helped a lot,” Jessup said.
After being no-hit by Indian Creek Tuesday night, East got the timely hits when it was necessary.
“We got the hits when we needed them. I think it’s pretty impressive how we can bounce down and then come back up the next game or two,” Jessup said.
“Thaise had a heck of a game. She’s a great ball player. She threw someone out earlier on trying to steal. She’s a game changer defensively and we everybody knows that,” East coach Rusty Brummett added. “She’s very good at understanding the ballgame, and she’s a good hitter. Tonight, she came up in a couple big spots that tied the game and got the base hit to score the winning run.”
Watkins finished 2 for 5 with a home run and double for the Olympians, and Jessup was 2 for 5 with a double.
Baleigh Fish picked up the win in the circle for East. She pitched a complete game and allowed five runs on nine hits and struck out 15 batters.
“She did a great job. She had a little hiccup in a couple of innings, but she was able to fight through it and did a great job,” Brummett said.
East added a home contest against Southport that will begin at 6 p.m. Friday to wrap up the regular season. Thursday’s game against Scottsburg is canceled.
“We’re going in the right direction. We’re finishing the season with a couple of big wins,” Brummett said. “Avon gave us a chance to reassess where we are, but Bloomington South was 10-5 heading into today. We’re capable of doing stuff as long as we get out of our own way sometimes.”
