In the perspective of Rosebud-Lott softball history, it came right on time.
Hoff yanked a three-run shot out of Lady Bear Field to cap a five-run fifth inning and propel the Lady Cougars to a 7-3 victory over Hallettsville in a Class 2A single-game area-round playoff game Friday.
Rosebud-Lott (17-4) advances to meet the Franklin-East Bernard winner next week in a Region IV quarterfinal. Hallettsville, the 28-2A champion, finished 18-10-1.
The Lady Cougars broke open a 2-1 lead with a four-hit, five-run fifth that provided a much-needed cushion. Hoff’s homer provided added exhilaration.
“I saw it was a fastball and I said, ‘I’m hitting this thing,’” Hoff said. “I heard the bat pop and it felt good. I thought, “Dang, this is a good hit.’ When I rounded first I saw it go over the fence.
“I was due,” she said. “I haven’t hit like I should.”
Turning a 2-1 lead into a 7-1 margin was helpful to Lady Cougar freshman pitcher Victoria Conners and the rest of the defense.
“It helped Victoria out a lot,” Rosebud-Lott coach Keele Wells said. “They were beginning to hit and we had a couple of three-up, three-down innings. If we had not had that inning they might have beaten us.”
Ellen Reid started the ball rolling with a one-out single through the middle. Emilie Skala followed with an RBI triple to the right-center gap to ignite the Lady Cougar dugout and raucous supporters.
Paige Bartek rapped a single to left to score Skala. Conners reached on a fielder’s choice and an error set the plate for Hoff with two outs.
Hoff took Lady Brahma pitcher Lauren Steffek’s first offering well beyond playing confines.
Hallettsville, which loaded the bases in the fifth but came away empty, picked up two runs in the sixth to cut the Lady Cougar lead to 7-3. Megan Busselman doubled home both runs to keep Lady Brahma hopes flickering.
Conners (13-4) held Hallettsville scoreless in the seventh to finish it. She scattered six hits, struck out five batters and walked three.
The Lady Cougars got to Steffek for nine hits. She fanned four, walked one and hit one.
Hallettsville manufactured a run in the first to take the lead. Haley Leopold walked, moved to second on a sacrifice, to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Latreece Haynes groundout.
Rosebud-Lott collected two runs in the third. Tamara Fabianke reached on an infield hit and later scored from third when Steffek mishandled a roller from Skala to tie it. The Lady Cougars took a 2-1 lead when Conners smacked a two-out, one-hop double off the left-field fence to drive in Skala.
Reid and Skala both had two hits in the Lady Cougars’ offensive attack.
The victory serves to build on Rosebud-Lott’s momentum and enthusiasm as the Lady Cougars march deeper into the postseason.
“We haven’t gotten this far in like forever,” Skala said. “We just yell outside the bus, ‘We’re in the playoffs.’ We just want to keep it going.”
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