ESU softball defeats Francis Marion, 1-0
2:19 p.m. Friday, May 16, 2008
Miranda Campbell could only think of one thing after lining a deep drive to right field in the second inning.
Finally.
“I breathed a sigh of relief,” the Emporia State third baseman said. “I’d been waiting for that to come all week.”
Campbell picked a good time to come out of her mini-slump, as her double provided the game-winning run in ESU’s 1-0 victory over Francis Marion this morning at the College World Series.
With the win, ESU advances to play St. Edward’s at 3 this afternoon. If the Hornets win that game, they will play St. Edward’s again at 10 a.m. Saturday with the chance to advance to the championship game at 4:30 p.m.
Campbell admitted that in the first two games of the tournament, she had been pressing at the plate.
The second-team All-American had gone 0-for-7. Her dad even told her that while she was on deck, he could tell that she was thinking too much.
“I was putting a lot of pressure on myself,” Campbell said. “Now, I know my teammates are going to be there to help me out.”
Campbell’s teammates were able to help her later that inning, as April Huddleston and Shelbe Hughes made sure to bring her around.
Huddleston followed with a sac bunt to move Campbell to third, then Hughes got ahead in the count after taking a high fastball.
ESU coach Kristi Bredbenner had noticed that, oftentimes, Francis Marion pitcher Michaela Wolf was going to a changeup after a first-pitch fastball.
Because it’s much easier to bunt a change-up — and also because the runner on third can get farther down the baseline — Bredbenner called for the suicide squeeze.
The coach guessed right. Wolf delivered a changeup, and Hughes laid down a well-placed bunt up the first base line, leaving Francis Marion with no play.
Campbell slid in safely to make it 1-0.
“I was on my horse,” Campbell said. “I was getting in there no matter what.”
ESU starter Samantha Sheeley held the lead with plenty of help from her defense.
The biggest play came in the sixth after Sheeley hit Monica Wofford to start off the inning.
Pinch hitter Megan Pangburn blooped a fly ball toward center, but ESU second baseman Angela Mahan got a good jump and retreated quickly to the outfield.
“I jumped at the last second,” Mahan said. “I don’t have a very high vertical, but I got it.”
The freshman caught the ball in snow-cone fashion — with the top half of the ball hanging out of the glove — before wheeling and throwing to first to double off Wofford.
Sheeley worked around another hit-by-pitch in the seventh inning to record her second shutout of the tournament.
It wasn’t easy. The right-hander allowed three hits and struck out seven, but allowed a baserunner in every inning.
Sheeley improved to 30-7 and tied the ESU single-season record for wins in a season. Melissa Stevens also had 30 wins in 2006.
Aubree Brattin joined Campbell and Hughes as the only Hornets with hits.
College World Series
Friday at Houston
Game One
ESU 1, Francis Marion 0
FM 000 000 0 — 0 3 0
ESU 010 000 0 — 1 3 1
W — Sheeley. L — Wolf.
E — ESU: Huddleston. DP — ESU 1. LOB — FMU 6, ESU 2. 2B — ESU: Campbell. HBP — FMU: Tyson, Wofford, Reuter. SH — FMU: Tyson, Bendle, Birchmeier; ESU: Huddleston. SB — ESU: Hughes.
Time — 1:25. Att — 378.
Records — FMU 39-16, ESU 46-16.
Information for this story provided by the Emporia Gazette.
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