Photos were taken by Jerry Lindsey.
On Saturday, June 3, 2017, the Morrison Fillies and Coach Tammy Deter took the field at the IHSA Class 2A State Softball Finals with a lot of emotional factors filling the stormy skies over EastSide Centre in Peoria, IL.
- They had let a State Championship opportunity slip by with an uncharacteristic first inning the day before.
- The weather caused a 30-minute delay.
- Eight of the Fillies were taking the field for the last time in a Morrison uniform.
- Coach Deter would be retiring upon the last out of this game.
- The game was being played for the title of being the third-best Class 2A team in the entire State of Illinois.
The opposing Lady Panthers from Pinckneyville, IL, were embarrassed the day before by a good St. Joseph-Ogden squad and wanted to reassert themselves. Their lead-off hitter immediately slapped a single up the middle. The Fillies defense retaliated with three quick outs, then went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first, against the off-speed pitching of Daisy Dudek.
The Fillies opened the scoring in the third inning as Ellie Schmidt and Emma Melton singled. Lauren Rice walked to fill the bases. Brooke Stralow singled up the middle to plate two runners, and the ice was broken. The Fillies looked in control.
The Panthers threatened in the fourth, when two singles and a Fillies error placed runners on the corners. The runner on third attempted to score on a high bounding infield hit and was ruled out. Vos made the catch from Jaeden Workman and made the tag while blocking the runner. Rice stuck out the next batter and silenced any momentum the Panthers had generated.
The fourth inning action started with Madison Steines being hit by a pitch. Then, back-to-back-to-back singles by Melton, Vos, and Workman plated one run and left the bases loaded for Rice. She took the first pitch and drove a line drive over the left field fence, to clear the bases and make the score 7-0.
The Panthers fought back in the fifth inning by opening with a single and a double. Kylee Kling drove in one run with a fielder’s choice, and a second run scored on a wild pitch, but the defense closed out the scoring without any more damage to the score.
Rice striking out two of the sixth inning batters and a groundout to Melton set the stage for the final inning for Coach Deter and the Morrison Fillies Seniors. The inning started with a single by Megan Mayo and an easy flyout to Steines…out one! Next came a groundout to Workman for a force out at second base…out two! Panther Daisy Dudek hit a grounder to Melton, who tossed to Stralow…out three!
The Fillies earned the third-place honors with a final score of 7-2. The final chapter of Morrison Fillies Softball under the leadership of Coach Tammy Deter was written and recorded.
Morrison earned Third Place in the IHSA Class 2A Softball Finals by a score of 7-2.
Photo 1: Emma Melton, left, and Jaeden Workman covering second base. Photo 2: Schmidt beats the ball to first. Photo 3: Workman awaits throw at second base.
MORRISON FILLIES AB R H BI
Emma Melton 4 2 2 0
Lauren Vos 4 2 1 0
Jaeden Workman 3 1 1 1
Lauren Rice 2 1 1 4
Brooke Stralow 3 0 2 2
Emma Sitzmore 3 0 0 0
Kassidee Church 3 0 0 0
Madison Steines 2 1 0 0
Ellie Schmidt 3 0 1 0
TOTALS 27 7 8 7
PINCKNEYVILLE 000 020 0 — 2
MORRISON FILLIES 002 500 x — 7
Morrison IP H R ER BB SO HR
Lauren Rice (W) 7.00 9 2 2 0 8 0