Victoria Advocate On-Line

Lady Cardinals beat Lady Knights
by Jason Orts - Special to the Advocate
Thursday, May 12, 2011

VictoriaAdvocate.com Article   |   St. Paul Cardinal Softball   |   Return to Shiner Home Page

light blue line
click to enlarge photo
The St. Paul bench erupts after pulling out an 8-7 win Thursday.
photos provided by Lori Raabe
WACO - Six innings of solid softball was nearly derailed by one inning of sloppy play for Shiner St. Paul in Thursday's TAPPS Class 1A/2A state semifinals.

But after the Lady Cardinals watched a 7-1 lead over Wichita Falls Notre Dame completely dissolve, Emily Wagner crushed a double to the right-centerfield gap that brought courtesy runner Christina Squyres all the way around from first to turn the near-disaster into a state championship game berth, 8-7 at the Waco ISD Complex.

"Oh my God," Shiner St. Paul coach Kaedy Hermes said. "All I can say is, thank Jesus. ... Seniors, that last inning was a leadoff single from my senior pitcher, and a game-winning double by my other senior. They've really come through for us."

Shiner St. Paul will play for the state crown at 3 p.m. on Friday at the Waco ISD Complex.

Paige Werner led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a rope to left field for a base hit before being lifted for Squyres, who never broke stride when the ball left Wagner's bat. The ball was on the infield when Squyres reached third, but Hermes sent her home and there was no relay throw as the ball got away from the Notre Dame infielders.
click to enlarge photo
St. Paul's Emily Wagner drills a three-run, first-inning home run.


Werner was dominant for the first four innings.

In fact, she didn't allow a base-runner until one reached on an error to lead off the fifth. The Lady Knights (16-4) got their first hit in the sixth on an ground ball that stretching a second baseman Mary Adamek couldn't quite squeeze.

St. Paul (17-7) was afforded some leeway by jumping all over Notre Dame from the get-go.

Wagner got the Lady Cardinals going in the first inning by sending a high fly into a helping wind in left field, and it carried just over the fence for a three-run home run and an early 3-0 cushion.

It grew to 5-0 when Kylie Natal cranked a double down the left-field line that brought Bethany Pokluda and Mary Adamek to the plate.
click to enlarge photo
St. Paul outfielders make the play on a fly ball.


After Notre Dame got on the board with a run in the sixth, St. Paul added two. Pokluda and Katelynn Leist scored in the inning in which the Lady Knights had two errors.

But in the seventh, it was Notre Dame feasting on miscues.

The Lady Cardinals made three of them, and the Lady Knights mixed in five hits in the frame before Hayli Otto completed the rally with a two-run double to the left- field line that tied the score.

"Finishing is something we've struggled with all season," Hermes said. "I think that's because in district, we don't go a full seven innings. We run-rule, three innings, five innings, and it's tough when you have to go a full seven. ... Hopefully, that's out of our system and we're ready to go tomorrow."


  Shiner St. Paul 8, Wichita Falls Notre Dame 7

     W: 000 001 6 -- 7  8 3
     S: 300 202 1 -- 8 10 4

  Hayli Otto and Joie Otto; Paige Werner and Kali Kocian;
    WP: Werner; LP: Otto;

  Leading hitters - W: Hayli Otto 2-4, 2B, 3 RBIs; Rachel Parkey 2-3, 2B, RBI;
    S: Alexa Schaefer 2-4; Emily Wagner 2-4, HR, GW 2B, 4 RBIs;
       Bethany Pokluda 2-3, 2 runs; Kylie Natal 2B

  Records: WFND 16-4; SSP 17-7

  
St. Paul Cardinal Softball   |   Return to Shiner Home Page

GO CARDINALS !

light blue line

http://www.shinertx.com/stpaulhs/va110512.htm

This Website brought to you by:

BaerCom
1019 N. Avenue C  •  Shiner, Texas 77984
Phone: (361) 594-4176  •  E-Mail: web@shinertx.com

BaerCom Design ©  Copyright BaerCom - Shiner, Texas  2011 Website Design by BaerCom