Bristol Herald Courier | Tim Hayes | Photo Credit: Emily Ball
EMORY, Va. – Honaker High School pitcher Gracie Shelton was on the brink of exhaustion, and her squad was on the cusp of a championship trophy as she unleashed her 160th and final pitch of the day with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.
“I knew I had to pull through for my team,” Shelton said. “We’ve worked so hard and I knew I had to stay strong even though it was really hot and everybody was nervous.”
Shelton buckled down and was able to get Chilhowie’s Payton Hester to bounce a game-ending groundout to first baseman Lincoln Bush to clinch Honaker’s 13-11 victory in the finals of the Hogoheegee District softball tournament at Emory & Henry University.
The back-and-forth marathon of a contest featured a combined 24 runs, 38 hits, 22 walks, 12 strikeouts, three errors and plenty of momentum shifts.
“In a game like that,” said Honaker sophomore catcher Sophie Campbell. “You take it one pitch at a time and hope for the best.”
The Tigers have navigated their share of late-game situations.
Honaker (13-7) scored three times in the bottom of the seventh inning on Tuesday to rally for an 8-7 walk-off win over Rural Retreat in the semifinals, a game that saw head coach Donovan Helton get ejected.
Honaker 330 220 102—13 12 1
Chilhowie 221 006 000—11 16 2
Shelton, Rose (6), Shelton (7) and Campbell. Dancy, Dowell (4) and Hester. W – Shelton. L – Dowell. HR – Campbell (H), 2nd, two on; Rose (H), 7th, none on; Ramirez (C), 2nd, one on.