:quality(70):focal(408x347:418x357)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/6JOXUXXDDFD2RPQTPSHMKJGQ2M.jpg)
PERU - Multiple home runs, a controversial call, a back-and-forth contest.
The St. Bede-Marquette rivalry softball game had it all Thursday.
The Bruins seemed to take control early with a six-run second inning only to see the Crusaders chip away and eventually take the lead.
St. Bede scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth and held off one last Marquette comeback to win 10-9 in a Tri-County Conference game.
“We didn’t play our best game, but I told the girls, ‘You know what? We fought hard?’” St. Bede coach Rob Ruppert said. “Sometimes you don’t always play your best game, but you have to fight to get a win, and that’s what we did tonight.”
After the Crusaders scored three runs in the top of the sixth inning to take an 8-7 lead, the Bruins got their offense going again.
Lili McClain and Morgan Mercer singled into left field to start the inning, and Lily Bosnich followed with a bunt single to load the bases.
Emma Slingsby reached on an infield single, and the throw to first base got away, allowing two runs to score. Macy Strauch gave the Bruins further insurance with an RBI single to right field.
“We stayed calm,” said Bosnich, who finished 3 for 4 with four RBIs and two runs. “We didn’t freak out or anything. We knew what we could do, and everybody stepped up and did what they needed to do.”
In the top of the seventh, Hunter Hopkins ripped a one-out triple into the right field corner for her second triple in her four-hit game.
Hopkins scored on a groundout by Kelsey Cuchra before St. Bede relief pitcher Chipper Rossi induced a groundout to end the game and earn the win.
“That was a long game,” Marquette coach Curtiss Johnson said. “It was a gritty game. We got down big early. The girls fought through and stayed in it. It didn’t bounce our way in the end.”
St. Bede built a big lead with a six-run second inning.
The Bruins (11-5, 7-0 TCC) loaded the bases with no outs before Quinn McClain got the scoring started with a bloop single near the right field foul line that brought home a pair of runs.
Morgan Mercer plated a run with a fielder’s choice before Bosnich delivered the big blow of the inning.
Bosnich launched a three-run home run that landed in the bed of a pickup truck beyond the left-center field fence.
“I just knew what I needed to do,” said Bosnich, who knew it was a homer as soon as she hit it. “I knew we needed more energy, and I knew that could get us going.”
The Crusaders (13-4, 4-3) did not let the game get away from them, as they immediately responded with three runs in the third.
Kelsey Cuchra had an RBI groundout, and Taylor Cuchra followed with a shot to left-center field for a two-run homer.
Marquette continued to claw back with a run in the fourth and a run in the fifth before taking the lead in the sixth.
“The girls did a good job slowing down and just chipping away one at a time,” Johnson said. “We tried not to see it as a whole and break it down. It was a good effort, so I’m proud of that.”
The Bruins scored a controversial run in the fourth, which proved pivotal in a one-run game.
Mercer hit a pop-up to shallow left-center field. Hopkins ran back from her shortstop position and dove and appeared to make the catch. Mercer ran to second base on the play.
The umpires discussed the play and ruled the ball was trapped.
Bosnich was the next batter and ripped a hard shot past the third baseman to score Mercer.