BALLWIN — Parkway West sophomore Elena Potsou repeated to herself it was just a normal at-bat as she approached home plate to hit.
But it wasn’t.
Potsou was hitting in the championship game of the Class 4 District 3 softball tournament at home before a large, noisy crowd.
Parkway West trailed by one run in the bottom of the seventh inning. The bases were filled with Longhorns.
“I was just thinking treat it like any other at-bat in a game,†Potsou said. “Just think about what you need to do here.â€
The moment was not too big for Potsou.
After taking a strike to run the count to 2-2, Potsou delivered in the clutch with a double to drive in two runs, lifting Parkway West to a come-from-behind 6-5 victory Monday afternoon over the visiting Westminster Wildcats.
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“I don’t even remember seeing the pitch,†Potsou said. “I knew it was a strike and I swung. I watched the ball and I was just saying, ‘Please drop. Please drop.’ And it did. It’s the biggest hit I’ve ever had.â€
Longhorns coach Andrew Jett was not surprised Potsou delivered in the clutch.
“She’s made huge strides since her freshman year,†Jett said. “We’re confident with her at the plate. There’s no moment too big for her. She has icewater in her veins. Once it happened, I let out a huge sigh of relief that we won.â€
The four-run seventh inning capped a furious comeback for the Longhorns, who trailed 5-0 after a half inning of play.
“We battled and battled,†Jett said. “The girls never let down. They never stopped. They’ve been in these moments before but I don’t know if it was five runs. They know we can score runs. We talked about that first inning. We let them know that five runs is not insurmountable.â€
The district championship is the first for top-seeded Parkway West since 1997. The Longhorns will host North Point (20-12) in a quarterfinal game on Saturday afternoon.
“Everyone was screaming. This is big for us,†Potsou said. “I’m so happy. We just have the most amazing team. I love them all so much.â€
The Longhorns improved to 21-9. It was the sixth consecutive victory for Parkway West, which enters sectional play winning eight of its last 10 games.
Westminster, which reached the state semifinals last season, saw its 15-game winning streak come to a disappointing halt. The Wildcats finished 24-5.
“This was a really good softball game,†Westminster coach Dan Petke said. “It had two really good teams battling and it came down to the last out. We competed. It just didn’t go our way in the end.â€
With one out, Juliet Relihan doubled down the right-field line off losing pitcher Jaymison Lenk, a freshman southpaw. Junior Siena Snyder doubled to center, but Relihan was held at third by Jett.
Senior Alexa Riddel hit a come backer to Lenk, who ignored Relihan running in from third. She threw to first for the sure out and second one in the inning.
Senior catcher Rachel Lival singled to right to score Snyder, making it 5-4. Mackensie Silva came in as a courtesy runner. Freshman Noor Hacking kept the Longhorns alive with a double to right. Junior Lily Bell was intentionally walked to load the bases for Potsou.
“I took a deep breath and just focused on one pitch at a time,†Potsou said. “After that second strike, I just tried to clear my mind. I told myself to just relax.â€
It was the fifth double this season for Potsou, who has driven in 21 runs.
“They’re a really good hitting team,†Petke said. “We were able to keep them at bay for six innings. They hit some really good pitches.â€
The Wildcats struck quickly in the first, sending nine batters to hit against senior pitcher Makenzie Brown, who didn’t allow any runs afterward. Westminster scored five runs on four hits and two errors.
“I’m feeling pretty good right now,†Brown said about the game. “I wasn’t feeling so good after that first inning. It was a little rough. But I was able to pick it up and my team picked it up and we all did it together.â€
Lenk doubled over Bell in right field. Senior Paige Branstetter double hit the chalk behind third base for a run, the 35th run she has driven in this fall. Senior Allie Branstetter hit a fly to left that senior Caitlyn Obermeyer dropped, putting runners on first and third.
Senior Molly Bugh made it 4-0 when she blasted a home run over the left field fence off Brown. It was her fourth home run this season. She has driven in 38 runs this season.
Brown walked senior Ellie Berkland, who took second on a wild pitch. After two strikeouts, freshman Sophia Bell singled to center. However, the throw to home from Riddle was wild, allowing Berkland to score from third, making it 5-0.
“I knew if I could shut them down after that, we would score and get back in the game,†Brown said. “We don’t give up. I knew we could do. We had a whole game left. Everyone told me they would get it back and it would be OK.â€
The Longhorns got a run back in the first. Riddel hit a one-out home run over the fence in left center. Riddel has verbally committed to play college softball at Kentucky.
Parkway West scored its second run in the fifth with two outs. Sophomore Riley Keegan led off with a double to left. After two strikeouts, Snyder hit a grounder to short that Bugh let get through her for an error and Keegan scored, cutting the Wildcats’ lead to 5-2.
Good defense
Westminster: In the third inning, Westminster junior right fielder Coco Francisco battled the sun and caught two high fly balls. To end the inning, second baseman Paige Bransteter stretched and snagged a line drive hit by catcher Livak. In the sixth, Bugh threw a laser from deep in the hole at short to just nab Hacking in a bang-bang play at first base.
Parkway West: Obermeyer made a fine running catch when she hauled in a tailing fly ball hit by Lenk along the foul line in the fourth inning.
Postseason play
Westminster: The Wildcats have two fourth place finishes. The Wildcats won the Class 3 District 2 crown last fall with a 4-3 win over Ursuline.
“We were in this position last year,†Petke said. “We scored on a walk-off double to win the district championship. It feels differently, obviously, this year.â€
Parkway West: The Longhorns have won three state championships. They came in 1988, 1992 and 1993.
Series history
Parkway West entered the game holding a 6-3 series edge against Westminster with all the games coming in the regular season. The Longhorns had won the previous two meetings.