SAINT LOUIS - The Alma softball team earned a split on Wednesday night with a walk-off win in the bottom of the tenth in game two. The Panthers fell 12-3 in game one behind a big five-run inning for the host Sharks. In game two Alma took the win with a walk-off single in the bottom of the tenth.
Alma had a 7-2 lead in the 6th when freshman pitcher Emmy Vanblaricum took a line drive off the ankle and had to leave the game. The Sharks would score five over the next two innings on the shaken Panthers to tie the game at seven and send it into extra innings. The Panthers sent St. Louis down in short order in the top of the 8th. It looked like the Alma might end the game in the bottom of the 8th when junior Kendall Vedrode sent a towering shot down the left field line, only for the ball to curve foul and extend the game further. In the 9th Alma loaded the bases up with no outs, but could not scrape across the go-ahead run.
It would be the bottom of the 10th when Vedrode would have another chance to spark a Panthers victory. A leadoff single followed by a stolen base gave Alma a runner in scoring position with junior Justina Moreno - who homered earlier in the day - up to bat. The Sharks would intentionally walk Moreno. Alma followed with a bunt single on an attempted sacrifice bunt to load the bases for sophomore Emma Ceja. Ceja took the first pitch of the bat and drove it through the left side of the infield for a walk-off single. Ceja earned the win in relief.
The Panthers will travel to Frankenmuth for a 4:30 start.
Alma had a 7-2 lead in the 6th when freshman pitcher Emmy Vanblaricum took a line drive off the ankle and had to leave the game. The Sharks would score five over the next two innings on the shaken Panthers to tie the game at seven and send it into extra innings. The Panthers sent St. Louis down in short order in the top of the 8th. It looked like the Alma might end the game in the bottom of the 8th when junior Kendall Vedrode sent a towering shot down the left field line, only for the ball to curve foul and extend the game further. In the 9th Alma loaded the bases up with no outs, but could not scrape across the go-ahead run.
It would be the bottom of the 10th when Vedrode would have another chance to spark a Panthers victory. A leadoff single followed by a stolen base gave Alma a runner in scoring position with junior Justina Moreno - who homered earlier in the day - up to bat. The Sharks would intentionally walk Moreno. Alma followed with a bunt single on an attempted sacrifice bunt to load the bases for sophomore Emma Ceja. Ceja took the first pitch of the bat and drove it through the left side of the infield for a walk-off single. Ceja earned the win in relief.
The Panthers will travel to Frankenmuth for a 4:30 start.