St. Mary’s edges Hanson Memorial Lady Tigers in 12 innings

SULPHUR _No. 6 St. Mary’s of Natchitoches struck for four runs in the top of the 12th inning to earn a nail-biting 10-6 win over the No. 3 seed Hanson Memorial Lady Tigers Friday at the AllState Sugar Bowl/LHSAA Fast Pitch 56 State Softball Tournament at Frasch Park.
Hanson’s Sarah Sonnier went all 12 innings, giving up 10 runs on seven hits with nine strikeouts and 14 walks. Sonnier, who was brilliant after working out of a first-inning jam, suffered the heart-clutching loss in the circle.
St. Mary’s Meredith Matt gained the win in the circle after working all 12 innings, surrendering six runs on seven hits with no walks and five strikeouts.
St. Mary’s finished the 12-inning contest with 10 runs on seven hits with three errors.
Hanson finished with six runs on seven hits with three errors.
Paige Diamond led the Hanson Lady Tigers in hitting with a 3 for 5 effort, including three doubles, 3 RBIs and two stolen bases.
Maddy Matt powered the Lady Tigers of St. Mary’s with a 2 for 6 performance, including a game-tying 3-run homer in the top half of the sixth frame.
St. Mary’s (20-9) jumped to a 3-0 lead in the top half of the first frame. Maddy Matt, Olivia Miller and Reagan Davis all tagged home plate, lifting St. Mary’s to a 3-0 lead.
Hanson retaliated with two runs in the bottom half of the first frame to trail St. Mary’s by a 3-2 margin.
Allyssa Young laced a single before Paige Diamond doubled her home for the Lady Tigers’ first run. Diamond later swiped third base and tagged home plate as the Lady Tigers trailed St. Mary’s 3-2 at the end of the first frame.
Diamond led off the fourth with a double before stealing third base and scoring on Sarah Sonnier’s sacrifice in the fourth inning to knot the game at 3-3.
In the fifth frame, the Hanson Lady Tigers built up a 6-3 lead when Lunden Verdin, Charlotte Pillaro and Allyssa Young all circled the bases. Verdin reached by error to open the inning before Pillaro smacked an RBI-double, plating Verdin while giving Hanson Memorial a 4-3 lead. Allyssa Young lined a single to deliver Pillaro and the Lady Tigers of Hanson coasted to a 5-3 advantage. Diamond lined her third straight double, scoring Allyssa Young as the Hanson Lady Tigers secured a 6-3 lead.
St. Mary’s, which left the bases loaded in the first frame after scoring three runs, rallied for three runs in the top half of the sixth frame to knot the score at 6-6. Maddy Matt’s three-run homer enabled the Lady Tigers of St. Mary’s to tie the game at 6-6.
For five straight innings, St. Mary’s Meredith Matt and Hanson’s Sarah Sonnier competed pitch for pitch with well-placed pitches that baffled hitters.
In the top half of the 12th inning, St. Mary plated four batters on the way to the 10-6 win. Lauren Vienne, Maddy Matt, Halie Rogers and Olivia Miller manufactured four runs to lift the St. Mary’s Lady Tigers to the thrilling 10-6 victory in 12 innings.
Hanson Memorial finished the season with a 23-6 overall record with the 2016 District 7-1A Title along with two victories to open the state playoffs. Hanson recorded state playoffs shutout wins over Haynesville (15-0) and St. Edmund (4-0).
The Hanson Lady Tigers reached the quarterfinals of the state tournament for the third consecutive season before falling to St. Mary’s in 12 innings.