Daleville falls just short in sectional final

May 23—POMETO — For five scoreless innings, Daleville and Cowan were teams looking to capitalize on the mistake that would make the difference between a softball sectional title or a disappointing ending to the season.

As it happened, it was a single Daleville error that paved the way for what proved to be the winning rally as the Blackhawks took their fourth consecutive Sectional 55 championship with a 2-1 win over the Broncos on Thursday evening at Southern Wells.

Cowan (5-20) will play at Tri (12-12) on Tuesday for the regional championship while Daleville (14-10-1) is left to ponder what could have been.

"We looked past them and were looking ahead to regional," Broncos coach Jeremy Pattengale said. "I kept telling them (Cowan) wins, and they find ways to win. They're coached very well."

It was Daleville junior Emily Simmons and Cowan's Savannah Bowling dueling in the circle, and neither was about to give in.

Through five innings, only one Blackhawk made it as far as second base against Simmons when two batters reached after one was out in the fourth. But good defensive plays by Kyra Osborne at shortstop and Ashlyn McMillion in center field ended the threat and kept Cowan off the scoreboard.

"I just relied on my defense mainly and my spinning pitches," Simmons said.

Daleville, however, had multiple opportunities against Bowling but could not come up with the big hit at the right time.

Cali Pattengale and Raegan Jackson started the second inning with singles, but Bowling retired the next three batters to leave runners at second and third. After Bowling worked around a walk to Simmons in the third and to Miley Womack in the fourth and a two-out Simmons single in the fifth, Daleville had two runners aboard with one out in the sixth.

Cali Pattengale and Jackson singled again, this time with one out. But Womack grounded into a fielder's choice and Bowling struck out Liberty Clevenger to leave the runners aboard, setting the stage for Cowan's rally in the bottom of the inning.

And all of the Blackhawk damage came after the first two batters were retired.

Bryleigh Hiatt hit a grounder to Osborne, who fielded the ball cleanly but threw wide of the mark. The error allowed Hiatt to advance to second and extended the inning for Cheyenne Carter.

Battling to a full count, Carter did not miss the 3-2 offering, belting an RBI double down the left-field line, chasing home Hiatt with the game's first run. After an intentional walk, Taylor Young hit a bloop single to center to extend the lead to 2-0.

"That error at shortstop was the difference. That was the game winner right there," Coach Pattengale said. "That was the difference. That one error was the difference in the whole ball game."

Bowling seemed about to end things quickly after retiring the first two batters, but Simmons was not ready to give up just yet. She hammered a long triple to left — running through a stop sign at second — and the sprinter for the Daleville track team scampered home on a throwing error, and the lead was halved at 2-1.

"I knew I was pretty fast, so I just wanted to get around the bases," Simmons said.

"She wasn't stopping. I threw up the stop sign for her at second," Coach Pattengale said. "Emily was fantastic. She deserved to win that game."

With Osborne — a .444 hitter — up next, Pattengale called his younger daughter and Bowling Green commit Valyn Pattengale into the on-deck circle to pinch hit if his freshman shortstop could extend the inning.

Valyn Pattengale — a .643 hitter — has been slowly trying to return from a leg injury suffered on May 1 and has been taking plenty of batting practice to prepare for the opportunity.

It was an opportunity she did not get, however, as Osborne flew out to shallow left to end the game, the Broncos season and the careers of Cali Pattengale and reserve Syniah Walker.

"At the end of the day, (Cowan) came prepared to play and we came prepared to play a team that was 4-20," Coach Pattengale said. "It's really tough to go out this way, especially when you feel like — even without our top player — we are the better team. They know it. That's why they're so (upset)."

For Simmons, who was brilliant in the circle and at the plate, this loss will motivate her and her teammates to return next year for another opportunity.

"I think this puts a lot (of motivation) under our belt," Simmons said. "I think we'll come back a lot harder next year because this does not feel good."

Contact Rob Hunt at rob.hunt@heraldbulletin.com or 765-640-4886.