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Springfield, Mo. —
Brooklynne Simbeck looked at her coach and flashed him an exasperated smile.
All game long the Grain Valley pitcher had stranded Festus runner after runner. She would have to do it one more time after issuing just her second walk on a ball she thought was a third strike with two outs.
But she induced Breanna Peters to hit a fly ball to left field. Lena Sanders squeezed her glove tight with the catch and raced to the infield to join the celebration as the Eagles had completed a 4-0 shutout of the Tigers in Friday’s Class 3 state semifinal at the Killian Softball Complex.
The Eagles, in their first final four, will play in their first state championship game against defending champion Centralia at 2 p.m. Saturday in the complex’s main stadium.
“This is crazy,” Simbeck said after the Eagles made it to the finals after never even winning a district title before this season. “We’ve never gotten this far, and it’s just great.”
Simbeck, armed with an early 2-0 lead, was a big reason why. She allowed just four hits but pitched her way out of a couple errors, striking out 11 in her complete game shutout. She worked out of having runners in scoring position in the second, third, fourth and sixth innings.
“Brooklynne was outstanding today,” Eagles coach Jim Oliver said. “She likes to nibble at times, but it seems like when she needs (an out), she gets it. The (No.) 1 through 5 hitters on that team are solid, and she handled them pretty well.”
Simbeck said it was her defense and some timely change-ups and rise balls that helped her.
“We knew they had a lot of good hitters, but I knew my defense would back me up,” said Simbeck, who was mistakenly not even acknowledged by the announcer as the Eagles’ starting pitcher. “My rise ball was working well. I used that a lot.”
The offense made it easier for her, and did it quickly. Monica Hudson drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first and Mikayla Akers reached on a bunt single. Hudson then scored on a passed ball. With one out, first baseman Courtney Folk singled down the right-field line to put the Eagles ahead 2-0.
“I think that was key for us,” a hoarse Folk said of getting th early lead. “It meant we had the momentum going throughout the entire game. It definitely settled me down. It’s kind of nerve-wracking being in a state semifinal, so to hit one in felt great.”
Brooklynne Simbeck looked at her coach and flashed him an exasperated smile.
All game long the Grain Valley pitcher had stranded Festus runner after runner. She would have to do it one more time after issuing just her second walk on a ball she thought was a third strike with two outs.
But she induced Breanna Peters to hit a fly ball to left field. Lena Sanders squeezed her glove tight with the catch and raced to the infield to join the celebration as the Eagles had completed a 4-0 shutout of the Tigers in Friday’s Class 3 state semifinal at the Killian Softball Complex.
The Eagles, in their first final four, will play in their first state championship game against defending champion Centralia at 2 p.m. Saturday in the complex’s main stadium.
“This is crazy,” Simbeck said after the Eagles made it to the finals after never even winning a district title before this season. “We’ve never gotten this far, and it’s just great.”
Simbeck, armed with an early 2-0 lead, was a big reason why. She allowed just four hits but pitched her way out of a couple errors, striking out 11 in her complete game shutout. She worked out of having runners in scoring position in the second, third, fourth and sixth innings.
“Brooklynne was outstanding today,” Eagles coach Jim Oliver said. “She likes to nibble at times, but it seems like when she needs (an out), she gets it. The (No.) 1 through 5 hitters on that team are solid, and she handled them pretty well.”
Simbeck said it was her defense and some timely change-ups and rise balls that helped her.
“We knew they had a lot of good hitters, but I knew my defense would back me up,” said Simbeck, who was mistakenly not even acknowledged by the announcer as the Eagles’ starting pitcher. “My rise ball was working well. I used that a lot.”
The offense made it easier for her, and did it quickly. Monica Hudson drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first and Mikayla Akers reached on a bunt single. Hudson then scored on a passed ball. With one out, first baseman Courtney Folk singled down the right-field line to put the Eagles ahead 2-0.
“I think that was key for us,” a hoarse Folk said of getting th early lead. “It meant we had the momentum going throughout the entire game. It definitely settled me down. It’s kind of nerve-wracking being in a state semifinal, so to hit one in felt great.”
That was all Simbeck needed.
Sydney Fry doubled to lead off the fourth inning and Kelsi Hill knocked her in with a single for a 3-0 advantage.
Akers walked to lead off the fifth and, after a passed ball advanced to her second, scored on an RBI single from Taylor Mays.
Simbeck struck out the side in the sixth around a walk and an infield hit and then retired the side on four batters in the seventh to preserve the win and the state championship berth.
Centralia downed Blair Oaks of Jefferson City 7-1 in the other semifinal. Now the Eagles will try to knock the Panthers off the throne.
“All of these kids have worked so hard all season to have this opportunity at state,” Oliver said. “We’re just going to treat tomorrow like we treated today, just another game to play. We’re going to have a good day no matter what and have some fun.”
