BREWER — Right fielder Paige Oakes spent her freshman and sophomore years at Hampden Academy before transferring to Brewer High School. And she came back to haunt her former teammates on Thursday night.
Oakes belted a game-tying triple in the bottom of the seventh inning and scored the winning run on a wild pitch to give the third-seeded Witches a dramatic 6-5 Class A North quarterfinal win over the sixth-seeded Broncos at Coffin Field.
Brewer, 12-5, will host seventh seed Edward Little High School of Auburn, 11-6, in a Saturday semifinal.
Brewer beat Edward Little 8-7 in their only regular season meeting.
Hampden Academy finished up at 9-8 including three losses to Brewer.
The Broncos rallied from a 4-0 deficit to take a 5-4 lead with two runs in the top of the seventh on Aubrey Shaw’s two-run single.
Hampden Academy junior righthander Cat Facchini struck out the first hitter she faced in the bottom of the seventh, but pinch-hitter Sarah Snowdeal drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch. Oakes followed with a long opposite-field triple just inside the right field foul line to deliver Snowdeal.
“I was a little panicked but I knew we could do it,” said Oakes. “We just had to lock in and focus. We couldn’t have done it without each other.”
Oakes wasn’t sure what type of pitch she hit “but it went right off the barrel.”
“That one Paige hit down the line was fair by just inches,” said first-year Hampden Academy coach and former Brewer assistant Jarrod Williams. “It was a perfectly-placed ball.”
“Paige Oakes always gets the big hit,” said Brewer coach Skip Estes.
“Paige Oakes is amazing,” said winning pitcher Sara Young. “This team is very special. We find the power to fight when it is close.”
Young said the walk to Snowdeal “was just the thing we needed to get it going.”
Brewer took a 4-0 lead with four runs in the third inning.
Two walks sandwiched a hit batter to load the bases and Jillian Ford’s one-out grounder to second plated the first run.
Olivia Bragdon then ripped a sharp two-run single to right and, following an Emma Jameson double, Bragdon scored on a wild pitch.
Hampden Academy cut the lead to one with three two-out runs in the fifth.
Kiera Gabric lined a single to left and raced to third on Shaw’s two-out double.
Gabric scored on a wild pitch and Facchini launched a long two-run homer to center field.
The Broncos took their first lead of the game in the seventh.
Lolah Cowing dropped a pop fly single into right and Gabric drilled a double to right field to put runners on second and third.
One out later, Shaw sizzled a line drive past the glove of diving shortstop Ford into left field to deliver both runners.
“I was very proud of the girls,” said Williams. “They got down 4-0 but battled back. They battled all year.”
It was Hampden Academy’s fifth one-run loss.
Young went the distance, allowing eight hits and five runs with three strikeouts and one walk. She also hit a batter.
Facchini tossed a four-hitter for Hampden Academy. She gave up six runs with six strikeouts and three walks. She also hit a batter.
There were no repeat hitters for Brewer but Shaw had two doubles and a single for the Broncos and Gabric had a double and two singles.
Williams said Gabric ended the season with a 17-game hitting streak.
