McQueen wins 4A state softball title

McQueen had played second fiddle to Spanish Springs for much of the 2006 softball season.

Katie Eshelman & Co. made sure the Lancers didn't end the season that way.

Eshelman scattered five hits and Brittany Johnson redeemed herself for a fielding miscue by squeezing in the winning run with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Lancers a dramatic 3-2 win and a second straight NIAA 4A state championship.

The Lancers concluded the season with a 33-9 record, and Spanish Springs finished 35-4. It was the third state title in McQueen's history.

"I didn't think we got the respect we deserved (during the season)," McQueen coach Stacy Baker said. "We kept that to ourselves. We let our bats, pitching and defense do the talking."

"At the beginning of the regular season it mattered, but as long as we made it to state, we knew we were going to win it," Eshelman said. "That was our goal."

And, it wasn't an easy one to accomplish.

The Lancers were three outs away from victory in the top of the seventh, only to see the Cougars scratch out two runs, tying the game at 2 when Courtney Darby hit a sacrifice fly and Mallary Darby blooped a single to short right field.

Kayla Stocker, the hero of Friday's win over Spanish Springs, opened the bottom of the seventh with a double off the fence in left-center field. She moved to third on a well-placed sacrifice bunt by Devin Higgins.

Eshelman was walked intentionally, leaving Spanish Spring coach Jeff Davidson with a difficult decision. Walk the bases full and pitch to Heather Bochenski or pitch to Johnson with runners at the corners?

Davidson chose the latter. Baker called for a suicide squeeze and Johnson dropped the bunt down left of the plate. Cougar pitcher Annalee Rubio bobbled the ball momentarily and then tried to use her glove to shovel the ball to the plate. Stocker scored easily.

"I'm not surprised (they didn't walk Johnson)," Baker said. "They know that Brittany is a slap hitter. I think we surprised them with the squeeze."

"I did consider it (walking Johnson)," Davidson said. "Bochenski was up next. We knew that they would either squeeze or slap. We work on our bunt defense all the time. The pitcher is supposed to pick up the ball barehanded. If she (Rubio) picks it up clean, we probably get her out at the plate."

It was a tough ending for the Cougars, especially Rubio, who scattered seven hits. She was a surprise choice to start over Mallary Darby, the team's ace, and she pitched a solid game.

"They (McQueen) hit the ball hard, but Annalee held them down," Davidson said. "Mallary hurt her shin and ankle (yesterday) and she battled through two games. She had ice on her ankle (during the game). She would have pitched if we had played a second game.

"Give McQueen credit. We played eight times and beat them five, but they got us the last two times when it mattered. My team never quit out there."

No doubt, but in the end it couldn't overcome Eshelman and the Lancer defense which came up with two big plays by catcher Kelsey Martin, who picked off two Spanish Springs runners to kill possible threats.

Eshelman fanned 10 and didn't walk a batter, and save for the seventh, dominated the Cougars.

McQueen was in a position that it could have rested Eshelman and saved her for a possible second game.

"I felt pretty strong," Eshelman said. "I would have pitched the next game, too."

Baker said she never considered it.

"You have to go with the player that brought you," Baker said. "Katie wanted the ball. I decided that last night.

"She is the best player I've ever coached, inside and out. She's going to school in New York next year (Wagner), and her heart is bigger than that city."

SPANISH SPRINGS 7,

SIERRA VISTA 1

The Cougars used a big two-run double by Steelman in the sixth, and the Lions made four errors in the inning which allowed the Cougars to snap a 1-all tie and score six unearned runs en route to the win.

An error, a botched sacrifice and a walk loaded the bases. After a strikeout, Steelman doubled in the left-centerfield gap to clear the bases to make it 4-1. Three more runs scored after an error, a walk, an error and a single by Jen Martensen.

Darby went the distance, scattering six hits, three of which came in the sixth when Sierra Vista scored its only run.

Darby fanned four and walked three.

•Contact DarrellMoody at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1281