Published: May 22, 2008 01:16 pm            

Schneid’s walk-off home run gives Lady Patriots second straight district championship

RICHMOND — Model felt like it had something to prove despite being the defending 44th District softball champion.

And with a swing of sophomore Shelby Schneid’s bat, the Lady Patriots (19-7) did just that. They rallied from a 1-0 deficit in their final at-bat for a 3-1 win over Madison Central (17-15) in Wednesday’s title game at Gertrude Hood Field.

“It felt great,” Schneid said. “I was nervous, but I wanted to do it.”

The trip around the bases was only her third, but second of the tournament as her blast against Berea supplied some needed breathing room in Tuesday night’s semifinal.

“I didn’t know (it was gone) until about second base,” Schneid said, who was 1-for-3 stepping in for her final at-bat.

Hannah Heath got the one-out rally going with a bloop single. Tara Curtis then reached on an error, setting the stage for Schneid.

Model coach Kelli Bromley knows her sophomore gets a little nervous at the plate, but took a moment to reassure her.

“I called her over before she hit,” Bromley said. “I grabbed her helmet and told her she was the one I wanted to bat. I asked her how that made her feel. She looked at me a little nervous and said, ‘Really good’.”

And those were her words to describe the feeling of many postgame questions, including winning back-to-back titles.

Last year the Lady Patriots used a late-inning rally to force extra innings and take their first title. They advanced to the finals of the 11th Region Tournament before losing to Scott County. However, Bromley feels like people still did not respect her team.

“We had something to prove coming out tonight,” the third-year coach said. “After last year’s (win) there were a lot of people I felt kind of maybe felt like we didn’t deserve it. We talked before the game that we need to come back and win it again this year.”

The Lady Indians seemed to be on their way to winning another district title behind strong pitching from Carrie Campbell and defensive plays by Christina Ciolek.

Ciolek dove and barely grabbed Hannah Heath’s opening line drive to set the tone for her game. The sophomore had several other nice plays, including an assist and a catch to get the final two outs in the sixth inning, stranding Model’s seventh baserunner.

Ciolek also got Central’s first hit and scored their only run in the top of the fourth.

“I got pumped up, it was exciting to cross home plate,” the sophomore said. “I had confidence in us. We played really well ... we can’t hang our heads.”

Ciolek finished 2-for-3 with a run. Danelle Johnson had the only other hit for the Lady Indians as Maggie Green pitched seven innings and had 14 strikeouts.

“Hitting made the difference,” Central coach Doug Cornett said. “Their shortstop had an outstanding tournament and is a very deserving girl.”

Making the District All-Tournament team were: Madison Southern’s Jackie Young and Nikki Jeck; Berea’s Shelby Renzenbrink and Sarah Haycraft; Central’s Ciolek, Lyndsay Jones and Johnson and Model’s Schneid, Curtis and Heath.

Both teams advance into the 11th Region Tournament which begins Monday at Madison Southern. Model will get a district runner-up, while Central will play a district champion. The draw is set for Saturday.

        

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