PILOT ROCK — Gracee Hemphill hit a walk-off double in the bottom of the seventh inning to help Pilot Rock to a 10-9 victory over Culver on Monday in the first round of the 2A/1A state football playoffs.
“My blood pressure was bursting through the roof,” Pilot Rock coach Kyle Golden said. “They were so hyped up and ready to go, then we had four errors in the first inning and a couple in the second. We hit well and got on base. Culver made some errors and we took advantage of that. In the seventh, I told them they were here for a reason.”
The Rockets (15-10) will play at Oakland at 3 p.m. on Wednesday in the second round.
“We played them in the preseason and came out with a win (11-10),” Golden said of the Oakers. “Hopefully, we can get it all put together.”
Pilot Rock trailed the Bulldogs 9-8 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. Hailey Thieme led things off with a double to left field, Kessa Litfin was then hit by a pitch, and Stevee Osborn drew a walk to load the bases.
Hemphill then drove a double to left field, sending Thieme and Litfin across the plate for the win.
“Hailey led off the inning with a shot down the left-field line to put us in a good spot,” Golden said. “Gracee was batting higher in the lineup earlier this year, but we were getting outs in the 6-7-8 spots. I dropped her to seventh for some assurance, and it has worked out well for us.”
Each team scored twice in the first, then Culver took a 3-2 lead in the second. Pilot Rock got the run back in the third, but the Bulldogs hung five runs on the board in the fourth, four coming off a grand slam by Evan Silbernagel, for an 8-3 lead.
The Rockets came back with three runs in the fourth, highlighted by a two-run triple by Paige Hansen.
In the bottom of the sixth, Pilot Rock scored twice as Hansen hit an RBI triple, and later stole home to knot the score at 8-8.
The Bulldogs (12-14) took a 9-8 lead in the top of the seventh as Ruby McQuillen hit an RBI single. Jada Deist struck out the next two batters as Culver left two runners stranded on base.
The Rockets pounded out 16 hits, with seven players having two hits. Thieme hit two doubles, while Hemphill, Autumn Severe and Kashley Golden each had one.
Coley Gibbs picked up the win for the Rockets, pitching the first 3 2/2 innings. Jada Deist came on in the fourth and finished out, allowing one run on six hits while striking out five and walking one. “Coley and Jada are interchangeable,” Golden said. “We don’t know who we are throwing until they start warming up. Both do really well.”
Silbernagel took the loss for the Bulldogs, allowing 10 runs on 16 hits with five strikeouts and two walks.
