EDWARDSVILLE - It's the bottom of the seventh inning. Tied with your opponents 3-3, any action at the plate can either set your teammates up for success or add another out to the scoreboard. With blind hope, you walk up to the plate and hope for the best.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
That is exactly what Edwardsville High School senior Hayli Green faced during Thursday afternoon's game against the O'Fallon High School Panthers softball team.
Luckily, on the first pitch of the bottom half of the inning, Green launched softball over the fence and skyrocketed her team into a wave of excitement as the Tigers won the game 4-3 on a walk-off home run.
Green didn't even think that she had hit a home run at the time.
"No," she said, "I was running for a double or a triple, maybe. As I was running first, I saw it go over the fence. I got very excited and saw my team at home. I'm glad I could come through for them."
Lori Blade, the Head Coach for the Tigers, was beyond excited for the walk-off win.
"She had battled the first at bats," she said, noting that Green had struck out two of her three at-bats. "She got a good pitch to drive and got a hold of it."
Aside from the fantastic play to close out the game, she also commended the pitching of junior Jordan Garella and the team's defense throughout the match.
O'Fallon landed on the scoreboard to kick off the game after a run was scored by senior Allison Underwood in the top of the first.
It wasn't until the bottom of the third inning that EHS senior Jordan Corby scored on a triple by her classmate Rachel Anderson, who scored the second point for the Tigers after junior Sarah Hangsleben popped the ball to right and was called out at third base.
Underwood brought in another run for the Panthers after running from first to home on a double by senior Addison Barnouski in the top of the fifth. The score was tied 2-2.
The tie was short-lived as Anderson ran home on a play by Hangsleben, who was yet again called out at third and raised the score to 3-2.
O'Fallon tied the score for the last time in the top of the seventh with meticulous base-advancing. Eventually, senior Cassie Brown, who began on first after a single to center field, walked across home plate and brought the score to 3-3.
As stated above, the rest was truly history as Hayli Green stepped up to the plate at the bottom of the seventh. The walk-off run earned her team the win and arguably one of the most talked about play of the season thus far.
More like this:
