Simpson’s softball team advances to NAIA regional championship
A powerful 1-2 punch pitching rotation, a player of the year, and the best overall record west of the Mississippi certainly sounds like a championship team. Well, at least that's what the Simpson Red Hawks are thinking.
The No. 7 ranked Red Hawks moved one step closer to moving on to the 2016 NAIA Softball Championship in Iowa by topping the unranked Oregon Institute of Technology Owls 4-2 on Tuesday.
In a game where the Red Hawks (40-4; 2-0) failed to score in the final six innings and committed three errors, this team always finds a way to pick each other up when in desperate need.
"It's believing in each other," said Simpson first baseman and Red Bluff High School graduate Bailey Akins. "If one person struggles, the next person is going to pick us up, and that's what makes us successful."
Although the game featured seven hard-fought innings, the first and final innings were where the emotion and execution reached its peak for both teams.
After the Owls (27-20; 1-1) stranded a runner on second in the top of the first, leadoff hitter Kaylana Mah got things started with a single on the first pitch from Owls starter Ann-Marie Guischer.
The senior Guischer struggled to find the strike zone following Mah's single, and Simpson hitters took advantage of being ahead of the count by sitting on her heavy fastball.
A back-to-back walk sequence set up the bases for the former Spartan star Akins. After falling behind in the count, Akins finally found her pitch on a 2-2 count and stroked a liner into right centerfield.
The base hit gave the Red Hawks a 2-0 early advantage and the packed Simpson crowd screamed for their local stand-out.
"In high school I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay local or not, but I'm really happy I did because having my family and friends around something like this makes me appreciate it even more," Akins said.
A Kristin Beckman hit-by-pitch loaded the bases once again and forced the Owls to go to their bullpen as Guischer was unable to record one single out in the ballgame.
The designated player Kara Wall sent another single to left field, scoring one more Red Hawk. Soon after, sophomore Jessica Dager grounded out into a fielder's choice, but picked up the RBI to push it to an early 4-0 lead.
After the first inning, Owls relief pitcher Kelly Scott retired 11 of the next 13 Red Hawk hitters. The problem for OIT was that Simpson starter Caryle Avey was just as good.
The senior from Riverbank, Avey, surrendered just three hits, all of which were singles, through the first six innings.
Although Avey tallied just one strikeout on the day, she was able keep Owl hitters off balance with a mix of off-speed pitches.
"Coach Wayne and I tried to do something different this time around. I tried to get it in on their hands and I knew I had to make very minimal mistakes because they were coming out swinging hard," Avey said.
Avey has been the Owls' Achilles-heel this year. In her three previous starts against OIT this season, Avey is 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA.
In the final inning, the Owls did manage to capitalize on a throwing error from third baseman Dager and a potential game-ending dropped throw by Akins at first, clawing their way to 4-2 deficit.
Following a pinch-hit single by Sadie Birch, the Owls had runners on first and second, with the runner on first signifying the tying run, leading head coach Wayne Stower to take a mound visit to talk to his team.
"I just told them the runner on second base doesn't mean anything. Just calm down, play relaxed, and don't get tight."
With ice in her veins, Avey painted a fastball on the outer half to get Karly LeVeque to fly out to center and send the Red Hawks to Wednesday's championship game.
With the victory on Tuesday, the Red Hawks are just one win away from advancing to their first NAIA Softball Championship in Iowa since 2014.
Simpson is pumped and ready to play in the championship game at noon Wednesday in a rematch against Oregon Tech after the Owls won their second game Tuesday. Oregon Tech would need two wins Wednesday over the undefeated Red Hawks in the double-elimination tournament to advance to the NAIA Softball World Series.
"We have winning on our mind and that's the only thing we are thinking about. At all costs, we win," Avey said.
Simpson 4, Eastern Oregon 2
OIT 000 000 2— 2 6 0
SU 400 000 x— 4 7 3
W — Avey, L — Guischer
Simpson: Avey and Beckman; Oregon Tech: Guischer, K. Scott (1) and S. Scott.
Top Hitters — Simpson: Akins 3x3 2RBI R, Wall 1x3 1RBI, Mah 1x3 R, Wright 1x3 R, Dager 0x3 1RBI; Oregon Tech: Virtue 2x3, LeVeque 2x3, Sy. Scott 1x3, Shrum 0x2 1RBI
Strikeouts: Avey 1; Guischer 0, K. Scott 4
Dickinson State 3, Eastern Oregon 2
The Tuesday victory by Dickinson State (North Dakota) eliminated Eastern Oregon from the tournament.
Dickinson and Eastern Oregon each scored a run in the second, while Dickinson added two more runs in fourth. Eastern Oregon countered with one run in the bottom half of the fourth.
Oregon Tech 5, Dickinson State 0
Oregon Tech earned a rematch with Simpson for the title by shutting out Dickinson State. OIT scored five runs in the fifth inning en route to the victory.
If you go
What: 2016 NAIA Softball National Championship, opening round regional
Wednesday: Noon, Simpson vs. Oregon Tech.; 3 p.m. game if necessary.
Where: Simpson softball field at Simpson campus, 2211 College View Drive, ReddingFormat: Double-elimination tournament with the winner advancing to the 36th annual NAIA Softball World Series
Ticket prices: Adults, $10; students, $5; children 10-under free
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