The Lady Wildcats went through most of the softball season ranked inside the top 3 in the 1A rankings, ending the season ranked No. 1. Last Monday, they finished the season officially on top, winning their second straight 1A state championship. The come-from-behind 11-10 win over second-ranked St. David was their 10th overall softball title.
They started quickly with 4 first inning runs. Two runs came off a triple by Audrey Neill, and the other 2 came from a home run by Gabby Jesmer.
St. David trimmed the lead to 1 with 3 runs in the second frame. Then took the lead 7-4 with 4 more runs in the third.
St. David scored twice in the top of the seventh, taking a 10-9 lead. In their final at-bat, the Wildcats won the game on Staisha Murdock’s walk-off single with the bases loaded.
Lorelai Sander and Sahzira Schoby combined to pitch all seven innings. Collectively, they gave up 10 runs, only 3 earned, with 4 strikeouts.
At the plate, Murdock was 3 for 5 with two doubles and 4 RBI. Jesmer went 3 for 4 with a double, a home run, and 3 RBI.
Neill went 2 for 3 with a double, a triple, and collected 2 RBI.
Joseph City finished the season with an overall record of 27-4.
