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Shatzen a walk-off success
Langley senior Hannah Shatzen strode to the plate Friday night in a situation that every kid dreams about.
It was the bottom of the seventh inning and the Saxons softball team was tied with Madison, 1-1. There were two outs and a runner at second base.
All Shatzen needed to do was put the ball in the outfield and the speedy Christina Bumpus, who entered as pinch runner following Lauren Engel's double, would motor around the bases and score the winning run.
A few minutes later, the Langley dugout erupted in celebration as Shatzen laced a single to deep right field, easily plating Bumpus to give the Saxons a 2-1 win in walk-off fashion. Langley improved to 15-3 overall and 10-2 in the Liberty District; Madison fell to 15-4, 8-3.
"I was [1-for-3] so far in this game and I felt I hadn't been hitting [Madison pitcher Ashley Meister] as well as I could have," said a jubilant Shatzen afterward. "There were two outs and I had a runner on second, I just knew I had to do my job for the team. I saw that pitch, so I just tried to drive it as hard as I could."
Shatzen, who reached base twice before in the game via a fielding error and a single, chose a good time to pick up her first RBI of the night. Kim McMasters led off the home half of the seventh by popping out to Madison first baseman Rachel Daul, and Lindsay Brown followed by fouling out to catcher Toni MacReynolds.
Engel proceeded to swat a 2-0 pitch to deep right field, a shot that appeared to be headed for the other side of the fence. But the ball fell a few feet short and Engel was forced to settle for a double. The frustration did not simmer for long, though, as Shatzen stepped to the plate seconds later and delivered with the clutch hit.
“Hannah, in the last couple of games, has been hitting real well,” Langley coach Bob Morrow said. “She's a big kid, she's got quick hands and ... she's [hitting] close to .400. She's been one of our solid hitters.”
Shatzen is the student body president at Langley and will attend the University of Virginia next year. She will not play softball but is interested in studying pre-law, business or political science.
"My entire life, I've always wanted to go to the University of Florida," admitted Shatzen. "I didn't get in and when I got into UVA, that was my reach school. I feel like everything happens for a reason, so I knew that was the place I belong. I'm really excited for next year."
On Shatzen's leadership position at Langley, Morrow quipped, "We say she runs the school."
Meister pitched extremely well all night, allowing 11 hits but stranding 10 runners. The junior got out of bases-loaded jams in the second and third innings and finished the game with four strikeouts.
Langley starter Emily Willis also pitched strong, but Morrow was forced to pull her with one out in the fifth inning after she walked two straight batters on eight pitches. Sophomore Brooke Brown came off the bench to replace her, and she scattered just one hit and fanned two batters in 2.2 innings of work.
Langley senior shortstop Kelsey Green scored in the first inning to provide the Saxons with an early lead. After reaching base on a single and then advancing to second on a passed ball, Green was plated by a McMasters base hit to left-center.
The Saxons' lead did not last very long, however. Daul ripped a single to right-center in the third inning to score MacReynolds. It became somewhat of a pitcher's dual from there until Engel and Shatzen staged the exciting finish.
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