Story Photos
 Kayla Vickaryous, left, and Hayley Ridout celebrate with the NWAACC Championship trophy on Sunday. Ridout hit a walk-off grand slam to end the game and win the title. Roger Werth / The Daily News
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Devils take NWAACC title in grand style
Monday, May 19, 2008 1:08 AM PDT
By Rick McCorkle
Printable version
E-mail this articlePORTLAND — Sports are all about redemption.
A batter can ground out in one inning, then redeem herself a few innings later with a game-winning home run.
This is the exact scenario that played out in Sunday's title game of the NWAACC Softball championships at Delta Park. Lower Columbia College third baseman Hayley Ridout grounded into a bases-loaded fielder's choice that erased a potential go-ahead run at home plate in the fifth inning.
"I hadn't loaded all game and was struggling," Ridout said of her swing. "I left runners on every inning and knew I had to do something."
Four innings later, she strolled to the plate in another bases-loaded situation, and the results were different. Ridout belted a second-pitch offering beyond the left field fence for a two-out, walk-off grand slam as the Lady Devils claimed a 7-5 victory in nine innings over Mount Hood in the tournament title game.
"It was an inside pitch that was a little high," she said. "I loaded, rocked back and it was gone. I knew right away when I hit it, heard the sound and had that feeling that it was gone. That's the biggest hit I've ever had, and I'm never going to forget it."
Neither will the coach, teammates and supporters.
LCC (45-8) won its third straight crown and ninth title in the last 10 seasons to give the school a conference-record 10 championships.
"Out of all of our championships, this one is at the top of the list of memorable moments," LCC coach Tim Mackin said. "We battled, and I told the girls to get base hits and not rely on the home runs, and Hayley got the perfect pitch. She dropped her bat head on the ball and hit it 240 feet for a walk-off grand slam in the title game of the championships. That's what legends are made of."
Mackin noted he gave Ridout some advice prior to her historic at-bat.
"I told her it was a little windy, and a base hit up the middle would probably score two runs and we'll tie the game," he said. "She got the perfect pitch, dropped her bat head and ripped it."
Trailing 5-3 going into the bottom of the ninth, Samantha Petrich opened the inning with a pop out to shortstop. Kayla Vickaryous legged out an infield hit, Jessi Hanna walked, and Camy Way reached on a fielder's choice when the Hood second baseman missed tagging out Hanna as she slid into second.
Carri O'Neil flew out to left field for the second out, but one of the foul balls she hit beyond the left field foul pole travelled an estimated 280 feet. Three pitches later, Hood hurler Ashley Valentine apparently served up the same offering to Ridout, who crushed the ball over the left field fence.
Ridout's hit was also redemption for Devils' bottom of the lineup hitters.
"I said at the beginning of the tournament if we hit in the 5-6-7-8-9 spots we'll win," Mackin said. "Hayley Mae came up in the six spot after we get the 2-3-4 batters on and hits a home run. You don't write a script like that."
LCC broke a scoreless tie in the third inning when Vickaryous slapped a single to center field, and later came home on a base hit from Way. Hood pulled ahead 2-1 in the fourth when Bryttny Kreshka blooped a single to right field that scored two runs.
The Devils countered with solo tallies in the fifth and sixth on RBI singles from O'Neil and Petrich, but Kreshka crushed a solo homer over the left field fence that tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the seventh inning.
LCC didn't score in the seventh or eighth innings, and Hood parlayed an error, an RBI double and a run-scoring single into a 5-3 lead in the top of the ninth.
O'Neil scattered seven hits and struck out four in the victory to earn tournament Most Valuable Player honors. In two seasons at LCC, O'Neil notched a postseason record of 10-0.
"Anyone on this team deserved to be the Most Valuable Player," O'Neil said. "Mount Hood is an awesome hitting team and it was hard to hold them down, and I knew we'd have to keep battling back because they'd never go away."
Vickaryous finished with four of LCC's 11 hits and scored twice to earn All-Tournament honors, along with Ridout, Petrich and Kassandra Myers. Anna Owen chipped in two doubles and O'Neil had a pair of singles.
Lady Devils 7, Saints 5
Mount Hood - 000 200 102 - 5 7 0
Lower Col. - 001 011 004 - 7 11 3
Lauren Hadenfeld, Ashley Valentine and Chanie Norbury; Carri O'Neil and Kassandra Myers.
wrote on May 19, 2008 12:48 AM:
I agree wrote on May 19, 2008 1:56 AM:
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