Dramatic home run sends Lady Comanches to state softball tourney
Saturday, May 28, 2011
by Cedric Inglehart, Gonzales Cannon
Gonzales Cannon Article | Shiner Lady Comanche Softball | Return to Shiner Comanche Sports Home Page
AUSTIN - A walk-off homer by Meagan Chumchal gave the Lady Comanches a dramatic 9-8 win over Mart and simultaneously punched their ticket to the state tournament.
Ashley Shimek on the mound. Gonzales Cannon photos
The freshman’s blast over the left field fence secured a two-game sweep of the Lady Panthers for top-ranked Shiner, who last won the Class 1A championship in 2008.
"It was an exceptional job of hitting by Meagan," said Shiner head coach Brandon Siegel. "The wind was blowing out a little bit and we knew we had to put the ball in play, so it happened at the right time."
Chumchal’s heroics was an appropriate way to cap her stellar day. She went 3-for-4 at the plate and made a beautiful diving catch in the field to save a possible run in the fifth inning.
"When I hit that last ball I knew I made good contact and I was just hoping it would go over," said Chumchal. "It’s going to be hard to top that, but I hope I can just continue what I’ve been doing and maybe do it again at state."
One of the most appreciative beneficiaries was senior pitcher Ashley Shimek.
"I was so excited for her," she said about her teammate. "Meagan works hard at practice and she really came through for us today. I’m so proud of her."
Shimek delivers a hit.
Shimek, who kept her season record perfect at 22-0 with the win, pitched strong early on but got into trouble in the middle innings. The Lady Panthers (26-8) scored five runs in the fourth, another in the fifth, and two more in the sixth.
"It seems like we always get behind and then our offense starts generating runs and we come back to win," Shimek said. "I was a little concerned when we went down 5-0, but not that much because I know we have a great team."
The Lady Comanches (30-4) responded indeed by launching their own attack on Mart’s Lexxi Davenport, who gave up 13 hits in the final four innings. Kristin Schacherl (4-for-4), Amber Ramirez (3-for-4) and Stacey Perez (2-for-3) led the way for the Shiner offense.
"It was a great effort," said Siegel. "We just kept battling and kept battling and it finally paid off."
The game was scoreless going into the fourth inning before Mart took advantage of three Shiner errors and a walk to jump out to a 5-0 lead.
Amber Ramirez slides safely into second after a hit by Kristin Schacherl
Julianna Rankin led off the bottom of the frame with a double and moved over to third when Jordan Pietsch doubled on a liner to left. Chumchal followed with another double that scored both runners and cut the lead to 5-2. Perez plated Chumchal with a base knock through the gap at first and second. Ramirez hit a RBI double with a deep drive to center and she came home when Schacherl’s blooper over third fell in for a single. Ryah Michalec’s sacrifice hit brought home Ramirez to even the score at 5-5.
Kahmee Gordon hit a ball that got past a diving Ramirez for a double in the top of the fifth, and she scored when Davenport lined one through the infield to put Mart back ahead 6-5.
Shimek struck out Raven Summers to lead off the sixth and then Celeste Hefelfinger reached base with an infield hit. Cheyenne Goodnight drew a walk before Jessica Williams plated both runners with a deep drive to right.
Jordan Pietsch (7) gets ready to apply a tag to Mart's Kahmee Gordon.
Perez’s infield hit and Shimek’s blooper to shallow center gave Shiner two baserunners to lead off the bottom of the sixth. Ramirez hit a line drive down the third base line to score Perez and narrowed Mart’s lead to 8-6.
Rankin’s infield hit on a 0-2 pitch led off the bottom of the seventh. Then Pietsch hit a hard shot right at Hefelfinger at short, but the ball was booted and both runners were safe. That set the stage for Chumchal, who hit a towering shot toward left that drifted over the fence to win the game.
The UIL Softball Championships begin on Thursday, June 2 at the Red and Charline McCombs Field on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin. Shiner faces Lindsay (31-11) at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, with the winner taking on the winner between Albany (31-5) and Grapeland (26-9). The Class 1A state final game is set for 8:30 a.m. Saturday.
Class 1A Region IV Final Game 1 - Shiner 12, Mart 7 R H E Shiner 000 4125 - 12 16 3 Mart 300 0220 - 7 11 6 WP: Ashley Shimek (21-0); LP: Lexxi Davenport. Shiner Highlights: Shimek 7 IP, K, 2-for-4, RBI; Amber Ramirez 2-for-3, 2 RBI; Kristin Schacherl 4-for-4, 3 RBI; Ryah Michalec 1-for-3, 2 RBI; Holly Haas 1-for-3, 2 RBI; Jordan Pietsch 2-for-2, RBI; Meagan Chumchal 1-for-4; Stacy Perez 2-for-4, RBI Game 2 - Shiner 9, Mart 8 R H E Mart 000 5120 - 8 9 2 Shiner 000 5013 - 9 16 3 Shiner Highlights: Shimek 7 IP, 5K, 2-for-4; Amber Ramirez 3-for-4, 2RBI; Kristin Schacherl 4-for-4; Julianna Rankin 2-for-4; Jordan Pietsch 1-for-4; Meagan Chumchal 3-for-4, 5 RBI; Stacey Perez 2-for-3, RBI; Ryah Michalec 0-for-4, RBI
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