Perryville coach Dave Ruark called it "a fairytale ending". In a game which featured more twists and turns than Principio Road, the Panthers outlasted Boonsboro 10-9 in nine innings Saturday in College Park to capture the school's first MPSSAA Class 1A softball state title and complete an undefeated season. Ashley Meekins hit a sacrifice fly to left to plate Jordyn Reese with the title-winning run. Perryville players streamed out of the dugout to mob Reese in foul territory between home and first and Ruark joyfully tossed his hat in the air. Senior first baseman Lydia Hill had difficulty describing the feeling of winning a state championship. "I don't even know," she said. "I just wanted to hug everyone. I was just so happy I couldn't help crying. I was just an emotional mess but it was incredible." An equally gutsy Boonsboro squad (19-6), making its first-ever appearance in the state tournament, took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first. A couple hours later, the Warriors tallied three times in the top of the seventh to tie it. All three runs came with two outs and the Panthers one out away from the title. Perryville (22-0) was retired in order in the home half of the seventh on three fly balls to center to send the game into extra innings. There was a short break after the seventh because the home plate umpire was suffering the effect of working in the hot weather. "It's unbelievable," said the superstitious Ruark, who sported the same long sleeve shirt he's worn all season despite the temperature hitting the high 80s. "[The Perryville girls] never stop fighting. They were physically exhausted. When the umpires switched over [after seven innings, because of the heat], it was just complete silence in the dugout. You could tell they were wiped [out]. It's almost like we needed that little timeout as well." In extra innings, each team begins their half inning at bat with a runner on second base under international tiebreaker rules. In the top of the eighth, Boonsboro bunted the runner over to third and got a clutch, two-out RBI single by Alayna Pettyjohn, which caromed off the leg of Panthers pitcher Mara Little and went past the shortstop, Mara's sister, Ellen. Pinchrunner Kadi Davis started the bottom half on second base. After a bunt was popped up for an out, Mara Little singled to right-center and Davis stopped at third to put runners on the corners. Nicole DiGiambattista knocked in Davis with a sacrifice fly as Boonsboro center fielder Dallas Kilgore made a nice sliding catch. The next hitter was retired when catcher Christina Baker fielded a pop in front of the plate on one bounce and fired to first. Baker started the top of the ninth with a single to place runners on first and third and Taylor Wyand singled to left to give the Warriors a 9-8 lead. With runners on first and second and nobody out, Boonsboro had a golden opportunity to add to its lead, but Little fanned the next three hitters. "I can't believe we had that chance [to win it in the ninth], said Ruark. "Runners on first and second with no out and to get out of there with just [allowing] one run was such a huge victory. And Jordyn Reese's hit kind of set the tone for the rest of the inning. We moved the runners even when the bunt didn't work, grounded out to second [to move the runner], sac fly, fairytale ending." "That was the turning point of the whole thing," Ruark added. "They had a one-run lead, [runners] on first and second, no outs, it almost looked like we were at our demise, cause they had everything going for them. It's just one out at a time, one pitch at a time. [Little] just gave us a chance and the tides turned right then, when we got those outs. The girls were almost crying. It's lost like they knew we were going to win it." Little was asked about her secret to success. "My secret is to always remain calm, because if you're panicking you might not throw your best" Little said. "But if you're calm you can keep it under control, you got it." Nikki Hill began the bottom of the ninth on second with the number nine hitter, Jordyn Reese, leading off the inning. Eschewing a bunt, Ruark allowed Reese to swing away and the freshman second baseman belted the first pitch she saw over the head of the left fielder for an RBI double. "I trust my coaching staff," Ruark said. "And to be honest with you, [assistant coach] Buzz Phillips came to me right in the exchange [between innings]. Just on how they played Katelyn [Griffin] last time [in a bunt situation in the eighth], where they just suffocated every thing in front, [a bunt] had to be perfect or there was nothing there at all. I trust my coaching staff and Buzz has got way more experience in this game than I do. This is just a deal where it's like, 'Daddy gave me the keys to a brand new Corvette, all he asked me to do was not to wreck it.' And I trust my coaching staff and I just went with it. Hey, why not? Jordyn Reese has been hitting great. She's had a hitting streak for several games. She was crushing the ball [Friday] in practice. And they pitched it like they wanted to pitch to the bunt and it was right there and she smoked it. That was just such an energy changer. But even before that when we huddled, the biggest thing was Mara bearing down and getting those huge outs to give us a chance. [Getting] one [run] is very manageable. Two is completely doable. You could just tell when they came in, we had a great shot." Said Reese: "Coach told me he would give me one pitch to swing. I knew they would put one down the middle because they were expecting a bunt." After Reese's double, Amber Keene fouled off a bunt attempt but ultimately did her job of advancing the runner to third on a ground out to the second baseman. Meekins hit a fly ball to medium deep left and Reese easily scored the game-winning run. "It's awesome," said Meekins. "I'm glad we won for the seniors and for us. We have a great group of seniors (Carly White, Lydia Hill, Kaitlyn Griffin, and Sierra Johnson) and this was a goodbye gift for them." Boonsboro served notice early the Panthers were in for a dogfight. Baker hit a two-run double to left-center to make it 2-0 and Rebekah Singleton came through with a two-out RBI single to center. Perryville countered quickly. Keene led off with a single to left off the top of the glove of the Warriors' shortstop and a Meekins line drive hit the left field foul line to put runners on second and third. Lydia Hill, who had three hits and three RBIs on the day, produced a two-run single up the middle. Carly White reached when Kilgore could not hang onto a bloop to shallow center after a long run. Griffin laid down a bunt to move up the runners. Mara Little (three hits and two RBIs) hit a bloop RBI single to right to tie the game at 3-3 and the go-ahead run scored on an errant throw toward the plate. "[Boonsboro] really brought a lot of energy in that first inning," said Ruark. "That's kind of been our tough inning. A lot of times we've fallen behind and given up a few in the first. And, it's almost without fail, [the Panthers] respond immediately, almost every time. Boonsboro was a really good hitting team. Through the Max Preps [website] we got to watch a lot of video. You just truly don't appreciate it until you see that that team was amazing. They gave us everything we could handle." Boonsboro answered in the second when Kilgore singled and scored on starting pitcher Karly Payne's double to right-center. Perryville tallied twice in the bottom of the third to take a 6-4 lead. Lydia Hill singled to right. White doubled deep to left, but Hill was thrown out at third. Griffin singled up the middle to score courtesy runner Brooke Reynolds and Mara Little lined an RBI double to left-center. Hill hit an RBI double in the fourth to lengthen the lead to 7-4. That's how it stayed until the top of the seventh. Boonsboro's first two batters reached against Perryville starter Emily Phillips. With the bases loaded and two outs, Singleton singled through the hole to trim the Warriors' deficit down to 7-6. The Panthers were inches away from securing the win but the right fielder Keene could not hang onto a Payton Smith liner and the game was tied 7-7. For the first time since the first inning, the Panthers had some doubt. "It made me lose a little bit of faith," Hill said. "I was a little bit nervous for a little while. But I knew we could pull it out. I have confidence in my team and I trust every single girl to win. That's what we came for." After Perryville was retired in order, Mara Little came on in relief of Phillips. "If there was a chance to put a freshman in, let's do it in a tie game" said Ruark. "It's a situation she can handle and, come to find out, she can handle a whole lot more than I ever thought out of a freshman. She was unbelievable." Little and Phillips logged most of the innings this season and both return next spring. "It feels pretty great," Little said. "I can't wait for next year so we can do it again." The underclassmen did their part to make sure the seniors went out a winner. "It means a lot to me," said Griffin, one of several Perryville players who were part of five Little League state titles. "We didn't know if we had it in us but we pulled it out and we kept fighting. We got the win in the end." Said Lydia Hill: "Everything we worked for this entire season came together in the last inning. It just felt so good. To leave this way made everything worthwhile." Video by Gina Pucci
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