For the second time this season, a softball game between St. Paul and Seymour came down to the wire. This time around, the Falcons were the ones celebrating a victory.
St. Paul and its fans erupted in cheers when Abby Poirot got a called strike three on the game’s final batter on Thursday afternoon. The strikeout clinched a 4-3 win for the Falcons, who had lost 10-9 to the Wildcats in Seymour on April 8. St. Paul had led that game 9-5 entering the bottom of the seventh inning, but Seymour scored five times to stun the Falcons and claim the comeback victory.
On Thursday, St. Paul scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to rally for the win. Jessica Persechino (2-for-3) led off the sixth with a single, reached second on a wild pitch, then scored on a Poirot hit to make the score 3-2. Freshman Ava Hampton doubled home Poirot to tie the game at 3-3.
With Rebecca Nerbonne at the plate and two outs in the inning, Hampton stole third base. The throw went into left field, and Hampton scored to put the Falcons ahead 4-3. It was the first lead for St. Paul since the bottom of the first inning, when it grabbed the game’s first run. Hampton had two stolen bases in the game, and she also drove in a run. Hampton, Persechino, Poirot and Katrina Roy each scored a run. Poirot picked up the 100th hit of her career.
Seymour didn’t go away quietly. Back-to-back singles had runners on first and second with no outs, but Poirot got a strikeout, pop out and strikeout to end the game. Poirot gave up three runs (two earned) on eight hits, struck out four and walked four.
