KOKOMO, Ind. - The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Softball team stunned the #1 overall seeded University of Rio Grande with a five-run rally in the top of the 7th inning to claim the program's first-ever River States Conference title.
Lyric Krause's game-tying single started a chain of scoring that would eventually give the Pomeroys an 8-5 victory and their first conference title.
How It Happened
The Pomeroys' 7
th inning magic continued in Saturday's afternoon game as they defeat Rio Grande 8-5 in the River States Conference Championship game. After winning late Friday, SMWC entered Saturday being the last team standing in the winner's bracket. Coming off of a hot win versus Rio Grande the day before, they knew they had a huge task at hand as they were facing the previous RSC winner and being a first-year team in the conference. The Pomeroys had a chip on their shoulder wanting to make a statement as soon as they stepped on the field.
Rio Strikes First
Entering the game off of a 7
th inning win from the night before, the momentum was in their hands. With that being said, home team Rio Grande started out on top scoring two runs instantly in the first inning. The Pomeroys struggled for the first three innings to score and link hits together. Going into the 4
th inning, the score was 4-0 with Rio leading. The Pomeroy bats began to work together and had two runners cross home plate making the score a solid 5-3 heading into the 5
th.
Gracie Ables (5.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 SO) entered the game in the 2
nd inning and gave up just three hits and one earned run in her strong showing. The Red Storm struggled to put anyone on base let alone score anything else for the rest of the game. If you aren't aware by now, The Woods likes to show their magic towards the end of the game. Once the 7
th inning began while being behind 5-3, the magic began.
Seventh Inning Magic
Jilliann Reese (3-3, 1 R, 1 RBI) started off the 7
th inning after running out an infield single and after that, the hits kept coming. After a couple of shots from
Victoria Lee and
Ashley Shanks,
Lyric Krause stepped up to the plate with two runners in scoring position. After hitting the game-winning home run the day before, she struck again with a ball off the top of the right-field wall to plate two more runs and tie the game.
Jaselyn Conn and
Jordyn Rice would deliver great at-bats with two straight walks and
Katrina Strow would keep the scoring alive with a single up the middle and two more RBIs of her own to seal the deal. The Pomeroys entered the bottom of the 7
th with an 8-5 lead.
Champions!
Summer Rocha, First-Team All-Conference pitcher, entered the 7
th inning to slam the door 1-2-3 and seal the victory. The SMWC Pomeroy Softball team wins the River States Conference Championship for the first time in school history as a first-year team in the league. Not just in the championship game, but the entire weekend was filled with key players and factors that played to the team's victory. The Pomeroys will continue their success and journey as they await an NAIA Regional bid that will be released this upcoming Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. ET.
Coach Walker had some words to say after the huge team win, "I am so proud of this team, they truly never think the game is over and that they are going to lose. To come back two days in a row in the 7
th inning against a team like Rio is something special. The momentum and excitement our team has right now should really help us going forward into the regional and we believe we can compete with anyone in the country. Poms are hot!"
Ashley Shanks had a huge weekend and continues to lead the team offensively. She was quoted as saying, "The team did amazing this weekend. We all came into this conference playoff with a spectacular attitude and a big desire to show what SMWC is made of. The team really bound together to keep our rallies going which led to us winning our first year in RSC. I believe that the team and I showed what dedication and respect we have for the sport in the way we continued to perform no matter the challenge given. Not once this weekend did the team doubt we would win."
Senior
Jilliann Reese, who went 3-3 in the RSC Championship game stated, "Going into the game I knew I wanted to do everything I could as a senior to be a part of making school history and winning SMWC's first NAIA conference championship. I look forward to seeing what my team can accomplish the rest of the year!"
Gracie Ables, the freshman pitcher who earned the win in the semi-finals and championship game stated, "Getting the win is such a great feeling as a freshman. I was a little nervous going into the game, but I know I always have a good defense behind me that I can always count on, as well as offense. Our team is something special, we never ever give up. No matter how much we are down by, no one can ever count us out because we always fight until the end, always."
Last, but not least,
Lyric Krause, a junior who hit the g- ahead home run in the semi-finals and a bases-clearing double in the championship said, "I truly felt everyone's support and love coming back into that dugout and I knew from the second I made contact that it would accomplish the job I was sent to the plate to do and that all that extra time in the cages and weight room was worth the effort! We definitely kept the game interesting through the 7th inning and truly set the precedent for all the things this program has the capability to achieve! Hopes are high as we head into next week's game schedule! I am so honored to be a member of this 2022 RSC Champion team despite all the adversity we have faced this year and having won this conference just makes us that much more dangerous as we carry our momentum into the playoffs! Poms are hot!"
Up Next
Prior to the game, the Poms had already been guaranteed a spot in the NAIA National Tournament. SMWC will find out which of the ten sites they'll be traveling to when they watch the selection show this Tuesday, May 10th at 5:00 p.m. ET. Fans can tune into the Play NAIA Facebook page
here along with the team. The NAIA tournament will begin May 16th with forty total teams competing to be one of the ten finalists at the NAIA Softball World Series.
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