By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Clinton, Miss.---The Owens Community College softball team saw its season end at the hands of No. 1 Phoenix College in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II National Tournament yesterday.
Owens opened yesterday with a 22-18 win over No. 10 Sauk Valley Community College in a game that lasted three hours and 20 minutes. After a short break, the team's prize was a loser's bracket quarterfinal matchup with the tournament's No. 1 seed, Phoenix College, who ended up defeating Owens 11-2.
Game 1: Owens 22 Sauk Valley 18
Owens jumped out to leads of 9-0 and 10-1 before Sauk Valley rallied to force an intense finish in yesterday's first game.
In the first inning, Owens scored four runs highlighted by RBI hits from Brittany George (Elmwood/Wayne, Ohio) and Paige Younker (Wilmington/Port William, Ohio). Makayla Burtscher (Bedford/Temperance, Mich.), who walked to lead off the game, stole her 40th base of the season in the inning, as well.
After Owens starter Lesley Ducat (Evergreen/Lyons, Ohio) allowed just a single in the bottom of the first, her offense added a two-run single from Cassidy Rolf (Eastwood/Pemberville, Ohio) and a three-run home run from Tori Weidinger (Whitmer/Toledo, Ohio) in the second to take a 9-0 lead.
The home run for Weidinger was her 12th of the season and 22nd of her career.
Sauk Valley scored its first run of the game in the bottom half, but Jacey Gray (Springfield/Holland, Ohio) answered with a squeeze bunt in the top of the third to give Owens a 10-1 lead.
That's when things got crazy.
Sauk Valley chased Ducat and reliever Lexi Williams (Home School/Swanton, Ohio) with a 12-run third inning. Ducat actually re-entered in place of Williams to close the inning, but Sauk Valley led 13-10 after the dust settled.
Josie Hall (New London/New London, Ohio), however, led off the fourth inning with a double. Moments later, with two on and two outs, Owens rallied for eight runs to take an 18-13 lead. The run was capped by a two-run home run from Hall, which was her fourth of the season.
Sauk Valley responded with two runs in the home half, and Owens clung to a three-run lead through four.
In the fifth, Owens got an RBI double from Weidinger, a two-run double from Emily Young (Maumee/Maumee, Ohio) and an RBI single from Younker to take a 22-15 lead.
The game wasn't over, though, as Sauk Valley started the home half with a two-run home run and an RBI double to make it 22-18 with one out. A double play ended the threat, though, and Owens led by four through six.
Owens stranded two in the seventh, and Ducat retired Sauk Valley in order to end the marathon game.
Ducat, who pitched a total of 6.2 innings, picked up the win to improve her season record to 19-6. She also notched her 40th career win after allowing 10 hits, 13 runs (nine earned) and eight walks. She struck out one.
Williams, who pitched one-third of an inning, allowed two hits, five runs (one earned) and one walk.
Offensively, Weidinger led four Owens players with three hits apiece. In fact, her 3-for-5, three run, one walk, six RBI game helped her break the program's single season RBI record previously held by Amanda Temple. Both players are Whitmer graduates, while Weidinger broke Temple's 2009 record of 54 by one with her big game.
Aside from Weidinger, Gray (3-for-3, 3 R, 3 RBI, BB), Younker (3-for-6, 3 R, 3 RBI) and Hall (3-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBI) also had big games. George, Katelyn Jensen (Genoa/Genoa, Ohio) and Young each added two hits apiece.
Stephanie Kester and Lindsey Costilow each had four RBI for Sauk Valley, who finished its season 45-10.
Game 2: No. 1 Phoenix 11 Owens 2
George had two hits in three at bats, and Young produced her second home run of the season, but it wasn't enough as Owens saw its season end at the hands of the tournament's top seeded team.
Phoenix jumped out to a 3-0 lead through two innings off Williams, who started the game. The high seed then tacked on two more runs in the third before chasing Williams in the fourth.
Ducat replaced her and pitched the rest of the game. She allowed the game's eighth run in the fifth to put Owens on the verge of being run ruled.
However, Hall singled and George doubled to put a pair of runners in scoring position with two outs. Gray then lined an RBI single to left to extend the game. George was thrown out at home trying to score from second on the play to end the inning.
Phoenix added three more runs in the sixth. This time, Phoenix's Kirsten Hostetler allowed a two-out solo home run by Young, but nothing more as the game ended after six.
George finished 2-for-3 with a walk, while four others had one hit apiece.
Williams, who went three plus innings and took the loss (10-5), allowed eight hits, seven runs (six earned) and two walks. Ducat allowed six hits, four runs and three walks over three. She also struck out four.
Phoenix improved to 53-11 with the win, while Owens finished its season 32-18.
Notes
Owens placed among the tournament's final 12 teams. Their only two losses in the tournament came at the hands of the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds after previously losing to No. 2 Mississippi Gulf Coast two days ago.
Weidinger finished her two-year Owens career with 47 runs, 113 hits, 29 doubles, two triples, 103 RBI, 27 RBI and eight stolen bases. She finished her sophomore year with a .400 batting average to close her career at .447. She also finished her career with a .500 on base percentage.
George finished her two-year career with 93 runs, 118 hits, 34 doubles, nine triples, 13 home runs, 83 RBI, 32 walks, 18 stolen bases, a .457 batting average, a .518 on base percentage and an .810 slugging percentage.
Ducat closed her two-year career with a 40-10 record, including two saves. She tossed 29 complete games and pitched 328.2 innings. Among those innings, she finished with a 3.26 ERA and 305 strikeouts.