McKenzie’s 3-run, walk-off homer in 10th lifts Wallace State softball to doubleheader split against Calhoun
HANCEVILLE, ALA. – With Wallace State softball trailing 4-2 with runners on first and second and no outs in the bottom of the tenth Tuesday night, catcher Andrea McKenzie convinced her coaches to let her swing away instead of bunting her teammates into scoring position.
McKenzie decided to become the hero on the next pitch, drilling a three-run, walk-off home run to lift Wallace State to a 5-4 victory over Calhoun in extra innings Tuesday night at Bobby McCracken Stadium. Her three-run blast helped the defending NJCAA Division I national champions split the doubleheader and maintain a slim one-game lead over both Calhoun and Shelton State in the Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) North Division.
“I told coach (Jayne) Clem and coach (Jeff) Benson I wanted to swing away. They gave me the chance and I was glad I came through. I prayed to God before I went to bat that I could help my team win,” said McKenzie, who caught all 17 innings of the doubleheader. “I knew it was gone immediately when I hit it. It’s the perfect feeling to hit a home run, but more special when you can win a game like that with one.”
Calhoun’s Hannah Dildine broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the tenth with a two-run opposite field single to left.
Wallace State (41-21, 14-4 ACCC) didn’t waste any time with an emphatic answer in the bottom half of the inning.
Annie Holcomb’s third single of the night, a bullet up the middle, started the rally for Wallace State. Kori Benson followed with a sharp single to left field, and McKenzie put the finishing touches on the win with a line drive over the left field wall.
McKenzie also tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth with a two-out RBI single. It stayed tied until the 10th.
“We needed this win badly. We want to be one of the top seeds at the conference tournament, and that goal is almost complete,” McKenzie said. “We are a family and we want to go as far as we possibly can.”
McKenzie finished with four RBIs, Benson and Holcomb each finished with three singles and Misty Doran added a double in the win.
Rachel Ragland (15-9) was the winning pitcher after going the entire 10 innings. She struck out six and scattered 11 hits during her complete-game effort.
Wallace State dropped the opener to Calhoun, 6-4.
Sabrina Russell was 3-for-3 in the opener, finishing with a pair of doubles and two RBIs. Ragland had three hits as well, finishing a homer shy of the cycle. McKenzie had a pair of singles and an RBI, Sarah Jordan had two singles and Mackenzie Hill singled.
Wallace State hosts Columbia State in a doubleheader Wednesday beginning at 4 p.m. The Lady Lions then host Snead State on Friday at 4 p.m. for their final conference games.
For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit wallacestate.edu.
###
______________________________
Russell Moore
Staff Writer
Wallace State Community College
P.O. Box 2000, Hanceville, AL 35077
1-866-350-9722 256-352-8443 direct
256-339-2422 cell
Visit us online at www.wallacestate.edu