Hoelscher, Helias walk off Hickman 6-5

Taylor Woehr of Helias slides into third base before getting tagged by Hickman's Athena Wheeler during Wednesday's game at the American Legion Post 5 Sports Complex.
Taylor Woehr of Helias slides into third base before getting tagged by Hickman's Athena Wheeler during Wednesday's game at the American Legion Post 5 Sports Complex.

In softball, a coach doesn't give a hitter the option to read the depth of the third baseman and lay down a bunt to lead off in extra innings unless the player's fast.

A coach doesn't give the green light to try to score from first base on an error in shallow right field unless the player's really, really fast.

Helias senior Abigale Hoelscher is fast.

Her bunt single to lead off the top of the eighth inning led to a 6-5 walkoff win Wednesday for the Lady Crusaders on Senior Night against the Hickman Kewpies at the American Legion Post 5 Sports Complex.

The next two hitters were unable to advance Hoelscher, so with two outs in a tie game, she was running anyway when Taylor Woehr lifted a fly ball to shallow right. The Kewpies' right fielder dropped it, and then Hoelscher and Helias head coach and third-base coach Chris Wyrick saw the same thing: a high-arcing throw directly from right to third base, not the cutoff player. Hoelscher scored standing up.

"I did (think of sliding) for a second, but when I rounded third, I saw out of the corner of my eye the third baseman didn't even have the ball yet," Hoelscher said after scoring the winning run. "So I knew that it was probably faster for me to just run straight through the base.

"All I was thinking was that I needed to go as fast as I could and give it my all, and not worry where the ball was."

Hoelscher finished the game 3-for-4, and along with the winning run drove in the Lady Crusaders' first two runs of the game. Kenley Haslag was also 3-for-4 with two RBI. Riley Heckenkamp hit 2-for-4 and Woehr was 1-for-5 with an RBI along with the fly ball in the bottom of the eighth.

"As soon as she dropped it, we were sending (Hoelscher), and as soon as I saw the ball up in the air, 'Let's go, let's go.' Let's try it," Wyrick said. "Abigale, she did not miss a beat. She was truckin'. Aggressive, and ready to make the play.

"I'm really happy for her. She's such a good kid, and I'm glad she was in the middle of so much."

The other good news for Helias on Wednesday was Lauren Howell's return to the pitcher's circle.

Howell had been in a walking boot and missed almost the entire season because of a nagging injury, but the Arkansas-commit senior started for the Lady Crusaders, throwing 41 pitches in two innings of work. She struck out six, and the only baserunners Hickman had against her were on a hit-by-pitch and a dropped third strike.

Wyrick said after the game Howell was cleared last week and has been doing light throwing, and was pulled after two innings to limit strain on her foot.

"You could tell she was feeling good out there, and the team feels good when she's out there," Wyrick said.

Alexa Rehmeier took over in the top of the third and was the winning pitcher, throwing six innings. She allowed five earned runs on 10 hits and a walk while striking out seven.

Hickman scored three runs with two out in the top of the seventh inning to take a 5-4 lead, but the Lady Crusaders (15-5) tied the game in the bottom of the frame. The Kewpies started the top of the eighth with a leadoff single and a sacrifice bunt to move the runner into scoring position with one out, but Rehmeier struck out the next two batters she faced on nine pitches to preserve the tie.

"She gutted it out," Wyrick said of Rehmeier. "She gave up the three, and then for us to come back and get that one was huge. She faced a lot of adversity against some good hitters who put the ball in play, got some runs with two strikes or two outs against her. And to battle back and get the hitters after those girls get hits, that's huge, and it's good to see her do that because that's going to happen.

"Teams are going to score, they're going to score with two outs, they're going to take the lead, and how we react to that is important."

After Haslag singled and Heckenkamp doubled with one out in the bottom of the fourth, Hoelscher looped the second pitch she saw from Hickman starter Emma Henley into the unclaimed territory behind second base. Hickman tied the game in the top of the fifth with a double, two singles and a sacrifice fly, but Holly Hentges led off the home fifth with a single and a stolen base, came home on a Woehr single, and Haslag drove in Woehr with a two-out single down the third-base line to restore Helias' two-run lead.

The Kewpies used four singles and a sacrifice bunt to take the lead in the seventh, but Ella Meyer reached on a slap down to third that drew a high throw into the visiting dugout, was moved up by Rylee Kolb, and Haslag's second RBI single tied the game at 5.

The Lady Crusaders are off until Monday, when they host Capital City. Helias plays at St. Teresa's Academy the next day and finish the regular season Oct. 11-12 in the Rolla Invitational.