Hammer hits pair of homers for No. 3 Comets, but inability to get final out in 7th leads to walk-off HR by No. 2 Colts

The respect for yet another hard-fought battle could be felt through the postgame handshake line, with genuine hugs and congratulatory moments shared between two of the top softball teams at the Class 5A level this spring.

Still, that didn’t make it any less bittersweet for third-seeded Crater, which needed only one more out to secure a spot in the championship final but just couldn’t make it happen in what developed into an 18-15 loss to No. 2 Thurston in Springfield.

“I have never been a part of anything like that as far as softball is concerned,” said Crater head coach Chris Arnold. “It was a wild affair. I guess the best analogy I can make is it was a heavyweight title fight and we were both landing haymakers, it was crazy.”

The game produced a number of highs and lows in rollercoaster fashion, ultimately decided by a three-run walk-off home run by Kassy Anderson on a full-count offering by Abbey Canfield that caught a little too much of the plate.

The winning home run was a sixth in the game for the Colts (23-5), who wound up going 3-1 against Crater (21-9) this season in tightly contested matchups in each case.

“Obviously, with the immediacy after getting so close and then having the rug pulled out it felt like in the end, it’s tough,” said Arnold. “But the kids battled and we were happy with how they played. They truly did play a seven-inning ballgame, and Thurston did as well.”

“I think it was certainly an enjoyable one for fans to watch, but kind of a heartbreaker,” he added. “There were a lot of tears, I think, on both sides of the diamond during that game. But it was exciting softball, and certainly offensive softball.”

Junior first baseman Amanda Hammer was nails for the Comets at the plate, blasting a two-run home run in the first inning to go with a grand slam in the sixth inning to help Crater keep pace in a scoring frenzy.

“There are gamers and big-time players, and Amanda is certainly one of those,” said Arnold. “The grand slam that she hit there in the sixth, that was the first pitch she saw. She was dialed in and she knew what she had to do, and it was right after a timeout. She was looking for a specific pitch and she got it and she just put a great swing on the ball.”

“That ball was so high into the air,” the coach added with a laugh. “I felt like we were playing in Denver, the balls were just launched into the air all night long, it was crazy.”

Khloe Cochran went 2-for-4 with three runs and three RBIs, while Ady Thayer was 3-for-4 with three runs and Crater finished with seven multiple hitters.

The Comets, who outhit Thurston 17-16, scored three runs in the top of the seventh to create a 15-12 lead heading into the final half-inning.

Gracey Thomas got things going with a leadoff double, then Espn Ostroskie singled and Logan Floyd hit an RBI double to break the 12-all tie. Danika Brackett tacked on a sacrifice fly and another run scored on an error following a grounder by Ally Nottingham to create a cushion.

The bottom of the seventh couldn’t have started any smoother for Canfield, who induced a pop-up back to the pitcher and another flyball out to second baseman Taylor Ryan to dispatch the first two batters.

After that, though, Thurston just began to snowball toward a big finish with consecutive hits by No. 9 hitter Kasey Ogan and leadoff batter Gaby Montes. Syren Ferguson then walked to load the bases, and Kendall Miller drew a walk to make it 15-13.

Arnold called for a timeout to try and settle things down with cleanup hitter Daphnie Heckel at the plate. With Heckel already accounting for two home runs in the game, the Comets tried not to give the junior anything too good to hit but she was able to respond on another full-count pitch by driving a two-run double past a diving Brackett at shortstop to level the score.

“I have a feeling if we would had ended tied there in the seventh, then it would have been another slugfest in the eighth,” said Arnold. “They were kind of the last man standing at the end of the ballgame and came through with just some clutch timely hitting, as both teams did at different times during the night.”

With runners on second and third, Canfield again battled to keep the Colts down, but Anderson turned on a full-count swing to drive the ball easily over the left field fence for the game-ender.

Crater, which finished ahead of Thurston as the Midwestern League champions, saw its 12-game winning streak come to an end with the semifinal loss.

“That was obviously the most frustrating part of the deal, to be so close and not being able to close the door,” said Arnold. “I have to give credit to Thurston and just kind of the environment that coach (Jeff) Litle has built there. Those kids don’t quit and they battle hard, just like we battled back in the previous inning when we regained the lead there in the top half of the seventh.”

Heckel, who went 5-for-5, and Anderson each had two homers and five RBIs for the Colts, while Miller and Gaby Montes also went deep for Thurston.

Crater 400 044 3 — 15  17  3

Thurston 015 402 6 — 18  16  2

Reach sports editor Kris Henry at kris.henry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035