Final Stats (.pdf)
SAN ANGELO – DeeShanaLynn Tafiti picked a fine time to snap out of her mini funk. The junior designated hitter was hitless in her last seven at-bats, including two Wednesday night against St. Mary's, but wrapped the second pitch from the Rattlers' Emily Brittain around the left field foul pole in the bottom of the seventh inning to lead the Belles to a, 4-3, walk-off win at the ASU Softball Complex.
Tafiti almost never got a chance to be a hero as a line of storms moved through the area just after the start of what was scheduled to be the first of two games between the South Central Region foes. Both teams waited out a 1:52 lighting delay before deciding to play just one game and resumed in the bottom of the first inning. The blast was the Kalaheo, Hawaii, native's eighth home run of the season and the two runs pushed across brought her season total to 34.
Brittain gave the No. 17 Rambelles (35-8) fits at times with six total strikeouts, including a stretch over the second and third innings when she struck out four of five batters faced. She also had the benefit of some timely defense by the Rattlers (33-17) as two sharply hit balls of ASU bats turned into inning-ending double plays in the fifth and sixth innings.
Angelo State starter
Claire Molina (18-4) was also impressive in spurts, mowing through the order in the top of the first before the delay and setting down the Rattlers in order when play resumed in the top of the second. Molina was touched for two runs in the top of the third when Jared Gonzalez delivered a two-out single up the middle to score Richelle Morales and Chelsea Wenske.
The Rambelles answered in the bottom of the fourth as a pair of extra-base hits – a double from Elsa Apo and a two-run homer by
Kacie Easley – evened the tally.
St. Mary's, the No. 6 team in the South Central Region, surged ahead again in the fifth when Shelly Lee led off with a double to center and advanced to third as
Brittany Astle's throw sailed wide of third base and rolled to the fence. Molina got Wenske to pop up back to the mound in the next at-bat and induced another fly ball with Lauren Miller at the plate but it was deep enough for Lee to slide in behind the tag at the plate.
Angelo State, the No. 3 team in the South Central Region, had chances to score with a leadoff single in the fifth and then a one-out single in the sixth, but
Kaycee Taylor and Elsa Apo both hit screamers that were tracked down and turned into double plays.
Molina made quick work of the Rattlers in the top of the seventh, inducing a fly ball to left followed by a pair of infield pop-ups, before Easley got the Belles going with a leadoff walk in the bottom half of the inning. The rest was in Tafiti's hands.
Angelo State will have a quick turnaround as they welcome Lone Star Conference foe Abilene Christian (26-23, 9-6 LSC) to the ASU Softball Complex for a late week series, starting Thursday night at 7 p.m. Angelo State will honor its senior class in a Senior Day ceremony Friday.
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