By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Sara Williams wasted no time. With one final swing, with her team thirsty for a win, Bedford North Lawrence’s senior second baseman carried the water for a walk-off win over Living Water.
On the first pitch Williams saw in the bottom of the seventh inning, Williams hammered a double into the left-field corner, chasing home Sophia Jewell with the winning run as the Stars dunked the Marlins 4-3 on Monday afternoon.
Living Water, a homeschool collection that’s far better than the name would imply, scored the tying run in the top of the seventh with a clutch two-out, two-strike hit by Susie Drake. That’s set the stage for the drama in the bottom of the frame.
Jewell coaxed a walk to lead off the inning, and Jaden Schofield dropped a perfect sacrifice bunt, moving Jewell into scoring position. Williams whacked the next pitch from Marlins hurler Halle Carpenter down the line and into the corner as Jewell trotted home.
“I’ve always been a first-pitch hitter,” Williams said. “I knew I could hit that girl. I just trusted it.”
Living Water (12-6) took a 2-0 lead in the first. Lead-off hitter Kiara Plasterer, a left-handed speedster, reached on an infield hit, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly. The Marlins added another run on a error.
From that point, BNL pitchers Macee Nicholson and Karsyn Coleman were in control. Nicholson struck out five while scattering six hits in five innings. Coleman fanned four and was a final strike away from finishing off the Marlins – until Drake dinged her with a sharp RBI double to left-center for a 3-3 deadlock in the seventh.
“I challenged our pitchers,” BNL coach Brad Gilbert said. “It’s time for our pitching to dominate. Not as many walks and hit batters. We did a good job.”
BNL (6-14) took the lead with three runs in the fourth. Coleman walked, Adalynn Bailey singled, and Dalanie Davis sacrificed both runners up. Kali McKee reached on an error as both runners scored, while McKee raced all the way to third. Pinch runner Lexy Niemi scored on a wild pitch.
“That was all Lexy,” Gilbert said. “That was huge, a great read.”
Williams made a terrific snag of a liner from Plasterer (who had three hits) in the sixth, extending to her full vertical reach while coming up with a snow-cone catch. She also had two hits, capped by the walk-off blast.
“That was a perfect inning,” Gilbert said. “We drew a walk, had a great bunt, and Sara got a pitch to square up. That’s a great way to win. It was a good win against a very strong team. I’m excited about the effort we had.”
BNL’s quick recovery from back-to-back losses (including a 17-1 nightmare at Columbus East on Friday) was remarkable.
“We knew we were not that team,” Williams said. “We’re a more competitive team than that. Move on, that’s all you can do.”
“We have a three-week season,” Gilbert said. “So it’s time to really buckle down and start playing better than we have.”
The Stars will host Barr-Reeve on Tuesday.
