TUCSON, Arizona – Sunday's 3
rd place game in the Gold Bracket of the 2015 NFCA Division II Leadoff Classic saw a rematch of last year's National Semifinals and just like the contest in late May, Sunday's contest lived up to the hype. The #1 Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M used a walkoff RBI double by
Allie Smith in the bottom of the eighth inning to top the #3 Red Storm of Dixie State, 5-4 at Lincoln Park in Tucson, Arizona. The win lifts the Lady Buffs to 4-1 overall while the Red Storm fall to 4-2.
"Really proud of how our kids responded from a loss earlier in the day when we didn't play well. Getting the chance to play a team like Dixie is one of the big reasons why I choose to come to the Leadoff Classic, it's fun to line-up and play a great team like that early in the year" said WT head coach
Kevin Blaskowski "Tori and Kilee did a great job in the circle and our offense found a way to put runs on the board, it's always fun to see a freshman come up with the big swing to win a game like that."
The Red Storm started off the scoring in the top of the first inning as Courtney Hine plated Janessa Bassett on an RBI single to left center but WT's
Ashley Hardin gunned down Hine trying to stretch the play into a double as Dixie took the 1-0 lead. The Red Storm added to their advantage later in the inning as Mallory Paulson launched a solo homerun to straight away center for the 2-0 lead.
The Lady Buffs plated their first run of the game in the bottom of the second inning as Hardin drove a ball to the right center field gap to score
Lacey Taylor from second base to cut the lead to 2-1. The Red Storm tied the game in the top of the sixth inning as Hine singled thru the right side
WT looked like they would re-take the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning as Smith led off the frame with a walk followed by a Hardin single down the left field line with no outs,
Brittany Gehle popped out to first base followed by a long at-bat by
Tyler Wilkinson that ended in a line-drive back to the circle as Brooklyn Beardshear snagged the liner and threw to first base for the double play.
The game remained tied heading into extra innings when the international tie breaker went into effect in the eighth, the Red Storm took advantage first as Paulson singled thru the right side with runners on first and second with two outs to drive in Josey Hartman from second to take the 4-3 lead.
The bottom of the eighth began with
Kaisha Dacosin being placed on second base followed by a Taylor single up the middle to continue her hot start to the season, the crowd exploded the next batter as
Allie Cranfill launched what looked to be a game-winning walkoff homerun to straight away center field but Dixie's centerfield Bassett made an impressive catch as she went thru the temporary fence to score Dacosin from third base on a sacrifice fly. The game would end three pitches later as
Allie Smith roped a double to the right center field gap that plated Taylor from second base for the walkoff win.
Kilee Halbert picked up her first collegiate victory, giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits with one walk and three strikeouts in her 3.1 innings of relief while
Tori Bayer had another strong outing in the circle as the junior gave up two runs (both earned) on four hits with no walks and no strikeouts in her 4.2 innings.
The top ranked Lady Buffs return to the friendly confines of Schaeffer Park next weekend as they host the WT Woodward Invitational on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with matchups scheduled against Colorado School of Mines, Adams State, Chadron State, Metro State, Colorado Mesa and CSU-Pueblo.
