MHSAA 1A Championship: Hamilton walks off with 5-4 win over Sebastopol in Game 1
HATTIESBURG — Hamilton's Neelie Stahl had been slumping when she stepped to the plate for the biggest at-bat of her life Tuesday afternoon at the USM Softball Complex.
But in that moment, it didn't matter.
Stahl fought off a couple of pitches in a 2-2 count before lacing a line drive into the gap in left-center to help the Lady Lions walk off with a huge 5-4 win in the first game of the MHSAA Class 1A Championship series.
Game 2 in the series is set for 4 p.m. Wednesday.
"I asked her where that's been lately," Hamilton coach Bryan Loague said. "We see (her ability) in practice every day, and it's great to see it show up here, especially in that moment."
Stahl's big hit put the finishing touches on what was a close, edge-of-your-seat opener to these MHSAA Championships.
Sebastopol broke a 2-2 tie in the fourth inning with after an error brought in one run and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Neely Wolverton.
That 4-2 lead was short-lived, as Hamilton scored a run in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single from Madison Mitchell and another in the fifth on Stahl’s first RBI double into the right-center gap. Mitchell finished the game with two RBIs on two hits.
Stahl's third and final RBI came in the seventh, after Hamilton pitcher Trinity Jones worked around some trouble in the top of the inning.
Jones worked all seven innings to pick up the win for Hamilton (22-7), despite taking a line drive off her face mask in the second inning.
"It was a gutsy performance for her to stay in the game and pitch the way she did," Loague said. "It hit her square in the face mask, and I can't believe that thing wasn't bent. But thank God she was able to stay in and keep us in it."
Jones struck out four batters and gave up three earned runs on five hits, but spun 68 off her 98 pitches for strikes and only walked one batter. The Lions' offense did the rest, banging out seven hits and laying down four key bunts that all led to runs.
Neely Wolverton suffered the loss for Sebastopol (25-8), allowing three earned runs on seven hits and seven walks. Hanna Boleware was the lone Lady Bobcat to record multiple hits, and Emma Smith, Abbie Wilson, Annagrace Stewart and Wolverton all drove in runs.
"We didn't clinch the South until about 10 p.m. last night," Sebastopol coach Davey Dewitt said. "So this was a pretty quick turnaround for us. We don't won't to make any excuses, but I would be shocked if we come out here tomorrow and walk a bunch of batters and commit a couple of errors. We're going to stick with what got us here and try to play better tomorrow."
