With her three doting older brothers in the stands, the sophomore third baseman sparked an eight-run sixth inning by taking the first offering from Copperas Cove pitcher Paige Thornhill out of Tem-Cat Field as Temple routed the Lady Bulldawgs 11-0 in a District 12-5A softball game Thursday evening.
Bane and senior Emily Vickery both went deep in the sixth, causing veteran Tem-Cat watchers to ponder when, if ever, was the last time that’s happened for a program that in recent years hasn’t been known for that kind of power display.
Temple pitcher Elisa Espinoza didn’t require nearly that much offensive help in her second straight shutout. Espinoza yielded three hits, struck out 10 batters and walked two.
Temple moved to 12-11-1 on the season and 3-2 in district play. Cove slipped to 9-9, 0-5.
The Tem-Cats earned a split last week in difficult games at College Station A&M Consolidated and Bryan but were looking to avoid stumbling against the Lady Bulldawgs after seeing the game pushed back two days because of mid-week rain.
“We did what we had to do to validate the week we had last week,” said Temple coach Steve Prentiss, whose team has a date at Harker Heights at 7 tonight. “We beat a team they tell you you’re supposed to beat. We were disappointed in the first three innings, but we got it in gear in the second half.”
The Tem-Cats carried a 3-0 lead into the sixth in a game that appeared to be heading for the full seven frames.
Vickery led off with a walk, Sarah Truelove bunted for a single and Brynn Maxfield walked to load the bases. Bane then pulled Thornhill’s fastball and watched as the ball kept hooking toward the foul pole but managed to stay fair before exiting the playing field.
It was a special moment for Bane as brothers Justin, Temple senior Jonathan and Jacob, home on spring break from Central Arkansas, where he is a linebacker, watched with pride.
“My brothers are like my motivation,” said Bane, who went 3-for-4. “That was probably the best pitch I could have possibly ever gotten.”
Later, Ashley Schlieper reached on a two-out flare over second base to drive in Perri Jimenez and Lauren Guevara came home on a throwing error to make it 9-0.
Vickery faced reliever Katelynn Stephens and got her money’s worth. She worked the count full, fouling off seven pitches before launching one beyond the left-field fence to bring the game to an end on the 10-run mercy rule.
“I didn’t want to be the reason we had to play another inning,” Vickery said, laughing. “I didn’t think it was going out. I was rounding first pretty fast.”
Espinoza remained steady despite seeing two runners get aboard in each of the first three innings. Of the first nine batters she retired, Espinoza struck out eight. Of the last 12 batters she faced, only one reached via an error. She remained strong late in the game, a positive improvement from her freshman year.
“I may not show it, but I put a lot of effort into every pitch,” Espinoza (12-9) said. “I’m more focused and when I’m behind in the count I fight even harder. I’m a lot stronger this year. My conditioning is better and I last a lot longer.”
The Tem-Cats scratched across a run in the first. Bane led off with a hit and scored from third by tagging up on Kacie Easley’s foul pop to catcher Kaiela Cantrell.
Temple added two more in the third. Easley connected on a sharp double that glanced off left fielder Savannah Seybold’s glove to bring home Courtney Truelove. Easley scored from third on a double steal attempt.
For Prentiss and the Tem-Cats, the victory was as much a relief as anything else.
“I was worried about this game,” Prentiss said. “Any team can be had by another one on any night. There’s not the drop-off at the bottom half of the district as there has been before."
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