The No. 13-ranked St. Thomas softball team (40-6) kept its momentum from Saturday going as the team rode its hot bats to back-to-back wins over No. 22-ranked Augustana College (36-13) to win the Cedar Rapids regional tournament Sunday.
The Tommies needed some late-game heroics in the first game of the day to force a second and decisive game, and proceeded to win a slugfest in game two in order to keep their season alive.
After losing to Augustana on Friday due to the stellar pitching of Viking starter Sarah Hintz, the Tommies got a chance at redemption as Hintz was again in the circle in game one.
Again, Hintz was on her game early as she allowed only one Tommie run through the first five innings, allowing the Vikings to jump out to a 4-1 lead.
Things looked bleak for St. Thomas as they were down three runs with only six outs to go in its season, but the Tommies would not be denied. They scored twice in the sixth inning on a squeeze-bunt by center fielder Maria McQuillan and a sacrifice fly by second baseman Meg DuPuis.
The Tommies then tied the game in the bottom of the seventh inning when shortstop Jenna Hoffman hit a leadoff home run to send the game to extra innings.
Pitcher Kendra Bowe was able to hold the Viking offense in check through the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, giving the offense the chances it needed to win the game. That chance came in the bottom of the ninth. DuPuis led off the inning with a single, and after a sacrifice bunt by Hoffman, right fielder Bianca Peterson ended the game with a single up the middle, scoring DuPuis.
St. Thomas took the late game momentum of the first game into the second game, scoring runs early and often.
After the Vikings plated one run in the bottom of the first, the Tommies exploded for a five-run second inning, highlighted by back-to-back home runs by Peterson and catcher Emily Gregory.
The Tommies were able to stretch the lead to 10-2 behind continued hot hitting throughout the lineup and an excellent pitching performance by Breezy Bannon for the second day in a row.
After a long rain delay, the Vikings cut into the lead in the sixth inning when shortstop Krista Watson took Tommie pitcher Kirstin Bigelbach deep for a grand slam, making the score 10-7, but that would be all the Vikings could muster.
Kendra Bowe came in to close the door in the seventh inning, securing St. Thomas’ trip to the Super Regional next weekend.
The Tommies will take on North Central (Ill.), who won the Pella, Iowa, regional, next weekend in a best-of-three series. The weekend will be hosted by North Central, of Naperville, Ill.
Scottie Sikich can be reached at siki3549@stthomas.edu.