JUDA - After tearing her ACL last year, Juda-Albany's Cheyenne Ambler could only watch the Panthers lose to Argyle in the regional tournament for the second straight year. Ambler returned this year and the third time was a charm for her and the Panthers against the Orioles.
Ambler and junior Jessica Crull were major cogs in propelling Juda-Albany to a 5-1 win over Argyle in a WIAA Division 4 regional semifinal game Wednesday. Ambler went 3-for-3 with one RBI and Crull was 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored. With the win, Juda-Albany (21-4) advances to play Southwestern in a regional championship game at 5 p.m. Friday in Juda.
"I think this has been my best year so far," Ambler said. "I have had my struggles hitting. I have started to come back and it feels good to play the game I love. Coach always tells me to keep my shoulder down and my eye on the ball and that was in my head."
Most fans had their eyes on the Panthers early on as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Argyle sophomore pitcher Kayla Butler-Paulson in the first inning. Juda-Albany senior Molly Marass singled and stole second. Crull ripped an RBI single to left. Ambler then delivered an RBI double to center to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead.
Argyle (11-12) rallied in the fourth. Argyle junior Hannah Saalsaa, who went 2-for- with a walk, singled off Juda-Albany freshman pitcher Nicki Becker. Argyle senior Amber Dammen lined a two-out RBI single to center to cut the Panthers' lead to 2-1, but she was thrown out in a run down after rounding first base.
The Panthers answered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Ambler singled leading off the fourth and sophomore Sara Jordan's sacrifice bunt moved her into scoring position. Juda-Albany's Riley Adkins was used as a courtesy runner for Ambler and she stole third. On a grounder to third, Adkins beat the play at the plate. Juda-Albany freshman Hailey Kammerer came through with an RBI double to score Danielle Dieckoff to give the Panthers a 4-1 lead.
Crull crushed a solo home run to center in the fifth to extend the Panthers' lead to 5-1.
Crull said she knew it was a home run when she hit it.
"It felt like it off the bat," she said. "It felt awesome. It felt good to put another run on the board. We were coming off a good game and we brought our intensity to this game."
Argyle didn't have many scoring chances, going 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position. The Orioles had a golden opportunity in the sixth loading the bases with one out. Becker walked Argyle's Katrina Carter and Paulson singled over Jordan at shortstop. Becker then walked Saalsaa to load the bases. However, Becker pitched out of the bases-loaded jam by getting a pop up and striking out Dammen.
"After Paulson fisted a hit over shortstop, we wanted to be careful with Saalsaa," Juda-Albany coach Bill Davis said. "Saalsaa is a good hitter. She could have made a big inning out of that and we didn't want that to happen. If we could get her to swing at one off the plate then great. The walk was kind of an unintentional intentional walk."
The Panthers had five stolen bases. Marass went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases. Juda-Albany sophomore Alexis Goecks also had two stolen bases.
"That has kind of been our M.O. the last few years," Davis said of stealing bases. "We have always had good team speed. We are a small team in basketball, but in softball we have that speed and quickness. We have a lot of girls who can run."
Ambler and junior Jessica Crull were major cogs in propelling Juda-Albany to a 5-1 win over Argyle in a WIAA Division 4 regional semifinal game Wednesday. Ambler went 3-for-3 with one RBI and Crull was 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored. With the win, Juda-Albany (21-4) advances to play Southwestern in a regional championship game at 5 p.m. Friday in Juda.
"I think this has been my best year so far," Ambler said. "I have had my struggles hitting. I have started to come back and it feels good to play the game I love. Coach always tells me to keep my shoulder down and my eye on the ball and that was in my head."
Most fans had their eyes on the Panthers early on as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Argyle sophomore pitcher Kayla Butler-Paulson in the first inning. Juda-Albany senior Molly Marass singled and stole second. Crull ripped an RBI single to left. Ambler then delivered an RBI double to center to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead.
Argyle (11-12) rallied in the fourth. Argyle junior Hannah Saalsaa, who went 2-for- with a walk, singled off Juda-Albany freshman pitcher Nicki Becker. Argyle senior Amber Dammen lined a two-out RBI single to center to cut the Panthers' lead to 2-1, but she was thrown out in a run down after rounding first base.
The Panthers answered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Ambler singled leading off the fourth and sophomore Sara Jordan's sacrifice bunt moved her into scoring position. Juda-Albany's Riley Adkins was used as a courtesy runner for Ambler and she stole third. On a grounder to third, Adkins beat the play at the plate. Juda-Albany freshman Hailey Kammerer came through with an RBI double to score Danielle Dieckoff to give the Panthers a 4-1 lead.
Crull crushed a solo home run to center in the fifth to extend the Panthers' lead to 5-1.
Crull said she knew it was a home run when she hit it.
"It felt like it off the bat," she said. "It felt awesome. It felt good to put another run on the board. We were coming off a good game and we brought our intensity to this game."
Argyle didn't have many scoring chances, going 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position. The Orioles had a golden opportunity in the sixth loading the bases with one out. Becker walked Argyle's Katrina Carter and Paulson singled over Jordan at shortstop. Becker then walked Saalsaa to load the bases. However, Becker pitched out of the bases-loaded jam by getting a pop up and striking out Dammen.
"After Paulson fisted a hit over shortstop, we wanted to be careful with Saalsaa," Juda-Albany coach Bill Davis said. "Saalsaa is a good hitter. She could have made a big inning out of that and we didn't want that to happen. If we could get her to swing at one off the plate then great. The walk was kind of an unintentional intentional walk."
The Panthers had five stolen bases. Marass went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases. Juda-Albany sophomore Alexis Goecks also had two stolen bases.
"That has kind of been our M.O. the last few years," Davis said of stealing bases. "We have always had good team speed. We are a small team in basketball, but in softball we have that speed and quickness. We have a lot of girls who can run."
