Sullivan Headed Back To State
Even a year later, Sullivan head coach Ashley Crump said her team’s 2017 quarterfinal loss to Monett ate at her.
The specter of that defeat influenced nearly everything the team did to prepare for 2018. The difficulty of the schedule was cranked up, defense was prioritized, intense summer workouts were planned and expectations were heightened.
On Saturday, Sullivan exorcised the demons of 2017.
With a 7-4 win over Bolivar in the Class 3 quarterfinals, the Lady Eagles are no longer asking ‘what if?’ as they head to the Final Four for the second time in three seasons and fifth in program history. Sullivan (27-4) plays Mexico (25-4) on Friday at Killian Park in Springfield. First pitch is at 10 a.m.
“Since that Monett game, I’ve just continued to think about it, that loss,” said Crump, who has now guided three teams to the Final Four in 12 seasons. “I’ve never swallowed it. We really thought about doing things a little differently this year. I don’t know if that’s what it is, this group of kids or just this day, but it makes it a little easier to swallow.”
For the third straight game, Sullivan was facing a rematch. They won rematches against Osage and St. Francis Borgia, but Bolivar promised a stiffer challenge. The two teams met September 28 at the Crackerjack Shack Invitational and Sullivan won 1-0. Addison Purvis and Bolivar’s Katie Brooks threw one-hitters for their respective teams, but Purvis’ solo homer was the only hit that mattered.
Sullivan took Brooks deep twice on Saturday. Hanna Johanning banged a solo shot off the scoreboard in the first inning to put the Lady Eagles up 1-0, then Purvis launched a go-ahead two-run homer in the fourth.
Bolivar center fielder Emme Hall went back on the ball and jumped up to make the grab, but it popped out of her glove and over the fence. That broke a 4-4 tie and went down as the game-winning hit.
Sullivan seemed comfortable digging in against Brooks. Crump said seeing her a second time helped, but the Lady Eagles have been facing strong pitchers for several weeks.
“I feel like the pitchers we have seen leading up…all of those girls brought some heat,” she said. “I do feel like we were more prepared this time around.”
After Johanning’s blast gave Sullivan a 1-0 lead, they struck for three more in the second. Abbey Daniel drew a leadoff walk, Madyson Stahl reached on an error by Brooks and Madison Decker was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Purvis, who was caught looking in the first, drove a pitch to left that scored two for a 3-0 lead.
Riley Diggs, who was sent in to run for Decker, stood at third. Johanning popped a ball into foul territory near first. Paige Severns caught the ball, but catcher Apryl Zeno also ran towards the bag, leaving home plate uncovered. With no fielder backing it up, Diggs scored easily to add another run.
“We knew they had a lot of freshmen and sophomores and we could use that to our advantage,” Crump said. “That was one of the plays right there. As soon as the ball goes up, fair or foul, we are trying to tag up. She saw the opening and took it.”
Bolivar refused to go down quietly. The Liberators tied the game with four runs in the top of the fourth. Avery McClure’s two-run double and Jadyn Hamilton’s RBI groundout evened the score. Bolivar tagged Purvis for three doubles that inning.
Sullivan regained the lead in the fourth. Stahl led off with a bunt single, went to second on a wild pitch and tagged up to third on a fly ball to left.
Purvis came up with two outs and drilled her eighth homer of the year. Sullivan’s dugout wasn’t sure how to react at first.
“Everyone held their breath,” Crump said. “They couldn’t tell what was going on.” It was unclear initially if Hall kept the ball in the park or in her glove. Purvis’ teammates mobbed her once the umpires ruled it a goner.
With a 6-4 lead in hand, Purvis sat the Liberators down in order in the fifth. Her defense came through for her in the sixth. Ashton Lynn plugged a liner into the gap, but Stahl ran the ball down to keep it a single. Severns attempted a bunt that ricocheted into Decker’s glove behind the plate. Without hesitating, Decker fired down to Payton Counts covering at first. Counts made the stretch to double off Lynn.
“That was huge,” Crump said. “That was a momentum changer. We said we had to keep the momentum with us.”
The pendulum continued swinging towards Sullivan as they entered the bottom half of the inning. Decker singled to start and was replaced on the bases by Keeley Lechten. Kylee Thomure drove a pitch off the fence in right. There was some confusion on the bases and Lechten safely reached third, but Thomure was caught trailing off second and thrown out. Two batters later, Johanning lashed a double off the left field fence, scoring Lechten for a 7-4 lead.
The insurance run was helpful. Purvis ran into trouble in the seventh. She walked Hall with one out, then gave up a single to Brooks with two outs. The runners moved into scoring position. Purvis didn’t surrender, watching a fly ball from McClure drop harmlessly into Counts’ glove.