It was far from perfect, but the Helias Lady Crusaders got their first softball win of the season Wednesday, beating Rolla 6-5 at the American Legion Post 5 Sports Complex.
Helias cruised with a 4-0 lead into the top of the sixth inning, thanks in part to a solid start by Alexa Rehmeier, but five hits, including a pair of two-out doubles, and an error saw the Lady Bulldogs take a 5-4 lead.
The Lady Crusaders responded with two out in the bottom of the sixth, with Livia Bloomer pushing a two-run single through the hole between short and third to put Helias back ahead. Reliever Molly Berkey pitched a perfect seventh, fielding two grounders back to the circle and striking out the final batter looking to help her team improve to 1-2.
"You've gotta play seven innings, and if you don't play seven innings, good teams will come up and bite you, and they got us in the sixth," Helias coach Chris Wyrick said after the win. "It was good to see us fight back in the bottom of the sixth, and Liv coming up with that big two-out, two strike, two RBI hit was big. Glad to see her get that."
Bloomer scored the opening run of the game, after reaching on a walk to lead off the home half of the first. She advanced on a groundout by Berkey and stole third. After Mallorey Rogers drew a one-out walk, Wyrick called for a double steal; Rogers was out at second but Bloomer scored standing up.
Bloomer finished the game 2-for-3 with a run scored and the deciding two RBI. The Helias offense as a whole played well, with eight hits, four walks and just one strikeout against Rolla after managing three runs in 20 innings in its first two games against Father Tolton and Fatima.
Ella Meyer led off the second with a single just inside the third base bag and moved up to third on a sac bunt and a groundout. Cori Verslues lined a double to right, her first of two hits in a 2-for-3 night at the plate.
"If we can draw three or four walks in a game and mix in six, seven, eight hits and take advantage of some mistakes, we'll score some runs," Wyrick said, "but we've got to make sure we take advantage of mistakes. And we did in the sixth inning."
Rehmeier allowed a leadoff double to right and a two-out walk in the top of the first inning, but got the third out of the inning on a swinging strikeout. She threw three scoreless innings, including a perfect second and third, striking out five, and exited because she got all but the last out in the 13-inning game Monday night.
Berkey stranded runners at second and third by inducing a grounder back to the circle in the fourth, then got two insurance runs in the bottom of the frame. Paige Schaffer hit a leadoff single, and courtesy runner Karoline Klebba stole second before Meyer walked. Klebba stole third and Meyer advanced on a bad throw, then Peyton Dudenhoeffer followed with a two-run single to left-center to make it 4-0 Helias.
Reece Chiles followed with an infield hit to the hole between second and the pitcher's circle, which chased Rolla's starter. Dudenhoeffer and Chiles both tagged on a fly to center hit by Verslues, and Ava Morris walked to load the bases with one out, but the Lady Crusaders failed to cash in.
"I think we thought the game was over, and we need to do the little things to score those extra couple runs," Wyrick said.
It became a problem in the sixth. After a leadoff single, Meyer and Dudenhoeffer tried to turn a double play on a ball hit into the hole, but Dudenhoeffer couldn't squeeze the ball at second. A single loaded the bases, then another single made it 4-2, with runners on the corners and nobody out. A sac fly to center and a 1-3 sacrifice bunt made it 4-3 with a runner at third and two down, but Rolla took the lead on back-to-back doubles to center before a flyout to center ended the inning.
The Lady Bulldogs' dugout and the group of fans who made the drive up cheered a little louder each time a hit went through, and exploded on the go-ahead hit, while the Lady Crusaders returned to their dugout after the inning looking shocked.
The first two Helias hitters popped out to second before Verslues hit a ball in no-man's land between second and right to put Klebba on. Morris followed with a hard-hit ball to short that should have been the final out, but Rolla's shortstop bobbled the transfer and Morris beat the throw. A double steal put two runners in scoring position for Bloomer, who, on her final strike, pushed a single between third and short to drive in the tying and winning runs.
"If she can keep doing that, getting on base and heck, driving in runs as a slapper from the leadoff spot, that's a bonus," Wyrick said.
Helias is back in action Friday in Columbia at the Battle Tournament.