Hanahan beats Aynor in if game to claim AAA Lower State softball title
Hawkettes will face either Crescent or Belton-Honea Path for state title next week
Hanahan - Nobody really likes to put in overtime, but there's something about the payday that makes it all worth it.
For the Hanahan High School Hawkettes, having to go two games with Aynor on Friday, May 22, for the AAA Lower State softball championship only sweetened the victory. The Hawkettes earned the right to play for all the marbles with a 7-2 victory in the nightcap against the visiting Blue Jackets. Defending state champion Aynor forced the decisive game with a 2-0 win in the first game.
"It's so rewarding," Hanahan head coachKatrina Bezdek said. "I'm just so proud of the girls. They seemed so down after that first game, but I was like, 'Y'all are still in it.' I said, 'Y'all still have the upper hand here because we have got a fresh pitcher going and they don't.] I said have confidence in y,urself. They fought. It was a total team effort."
Hanahan (22-7) begins play in the best-of-3 state championship series Tuesday, May 26, against either Crescent or Belton-Honea Path. The Upper State champion hosts Game 1 and Hanahan is at home Thursday, May 28, for Game 2. Game 3 would be at a neutral site.
.The Hawkettes have three state titles in their history (2008, 2017 and 2018) and are hunting No. 4 next week.
Aynor ends an otherwise special season at 23-6
.Hanahan hurlerDria Tolbert threw all seven innings in the winner-take-all battle, spinning a 4-hitter while striking out three batters. She allowed one earned run and worked through some stressful situations to keep Aynor at bay.
"She had been throwing a lot of balls and getting deep in counts in her previous starts," Bezdek said. "Tonight she got ahead and really located her pitches, which was huge for us. She just let her defense back her up. She didn't feel like she had to do it all by herself."
At the dish, designated hitterJamie O'Connor provided the finishing touch with a 3-run blast during the top of the seventh inning. O'Connor's shot sailed over the fence in left-center field and was huge considering Aynor had the top of its order coming up in the bottom of the inning. O'Connor also had a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2 in the top of the fifth inning.
"She was seeing the ball really well," Bezdek said. "The wind died down a little bit. That was huge for her. I'm not surprised... When it goes over, you can breathe a little bit more. A 4-2 game with the top of their lineup coming up would have been nerve-wracking."
Earlier in the fifth,
Hanahan
outfielder
Selena Riley sent an RBI double to the fence to break a 2-2 tie. All of the previous theatrics happened in the third frame.
After outfielderBriar Mros walked to lead off and stole second base, catcher
Emma McGowan
sliced a double down the left field line for Hanahan's first run in the two games. She eventually scored on a wild pitch to put the Hawkettes up 2-0.
Aynor answered in the bottom of third on
Paisley Page's RBI single to left field that scooted past the Hanahan outfielder, enabling Page to motor all the way around the bases and tie the score 2-2.
The lone player from either to collect multiple hits was Aynor leadoff hitter Aiivia Hess, who went 2-for-4 with a triple.
Each squad collected four hits and committed two errors in the finale.
In the opener, Hess was spectacular for the Blue Jackets. The
Tennessee-Martin signee fanned 16 batters and surrendered just two hits. During the game, she topped 700 career strikeouts. She also went 2-for-4 from the leadoff spot and knocked in a run in the top of the fifth inning.
"She just competes every single pitch," Bezdek said. "She kept us off the basepaths pretty much the first game. She's a very hard out at the plate. That's for sure. We tried a bunch of things against her but she always put it in play."
Hess threw all 14 innings of the doubleheader and struck out 28 batters, allowing six hits and just two earned runs. Trailing 2-0 in Game 1, Hanahan loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth inning, but Hess recorded back-to-back strikeouts to squash the threat.
Hanahan's Maggie Priddy was strong inside the circle in Game 1, too, She scattered six hits and struck out three batters.
Designated hitter Kylie Woodle sparked the scoring for Aynor in Game 1 with an RBI single, followed two batters later by Hess' RBI double.
