WHITEHOUSE — Elysian Fields pitched a scare.
Woden just had a little more juice in an extra-inning thriller.
With the bases loaded in the top of the eighth inning, Brittani Stone blasted a two-RBI double to break a 7-7 tie to help Woden capture a 10-7 regional quarterfinal title over Elysian Fields in Game 3 of a best-of-three series here at Lady Wildcat field Saturday.
Jordan Schmidt and Charlotte Singleton both combined for seven strikeouts to help Woden improve to 18-5.
Schmidt had six strikeouts and gave up two hits and Singleton finished with a double and two singles. On the mound, she had one strikeout and gave up three hits.
Woden advances to the regional semifinals to play the winner of Harelton and New Boston.
Elysian Fields ends its season at 24-12.
Woden had led the majority of the game.
Taking a 7-1 lead into the sixth inning was exactly what head coach Kim Cox wanted down the stretch.
The battle-tested Yellowjackets weren't having it, though.
After a couple of walks and two costly Woden errors, Elysian Fields loaded the bases with no outs, when freshman Candise Wise nailed an RBI single and senior Josi Soape belted a two-RBI double to rally the Yellowjackets and tie the game at 7-7.
The momentum had clearly swung in Elysian Fields' favor. It seemed to be steam rolling with the advantage as the home team to bat last.
Both teams came up short in the seventh inning.
Stone's big hit late and freshman Lindsey Jacobs' sacrifice fly gave Woden its 10th run in the eighth inning.
"What a game," Woden head coach Kim Cox said. "These ladies like to push the limits. They like to see how far they can take it and in the end, they push on through. It's the darnedest thing I've ever seen."
Fans in the stands could rarely be seen sitting down in the thriller as they witnessed a slugfest that featured 21 total hits from both teams.
Woden's offense cashed in 16 hits off Lady Yellowjacket pitcher Blair Hickey, who pitched all three games for Elysian Fields. The Yellowjackets were able to collect five hits.
Hickey finished with four strikeouts.
"We hit the ball hard and got out of a lot of jams early," Cox said. "Both the offense and defense did an excellent job. Instead of hanging our heads after blowing the lead, we come back out pumped up and on fire. That was big."
The majority of Elysian Fields' hits came in the final three innings.
Schmidt hadn't allowed a hit through the first 3 1/3 innings. Singleton had kept batters guessing with her fastball in the following two innings.
"Our pitching staff did a phenomenal job," Cox said. "They did what they had to do to win the game, and I was proud of that. The good thing about them (Schmidt) and (Singleton) is that they know they have each other backing one another up. That helps."
ShyAnne Stone got the bats rolling early with an RBI single to give Woden a 1-0 lead in the first.
Back-to-back doubles hit down the left field line by Sara McLemore and Ashley Wilburn in the second inning increased the lead to 3-0.
Woden took a 5-0 lead in the third inning when Jacobs hit a two-RBI single deep into center field after the two Stone sisters, Brittani and ShyAnne, hit back-to-back singles.
Jordan and Sarah Schmidt, who both combined for five singles, added to the hitting spree in the following two innings with two singles. Jordan finished with three singles and Sarah had two.
"We got offensive production from the whole line-up in one way or another," Cox said. "Getting the runs early set the tone for most of the game."
No doubt.
Woden dominated every inning but one — the costly six-run inning by Elysian Fields. The Lady Eagles had hits in every inning but the seventh.
Ashley Wilburn finished with a double. Brittani Stone had a double and two singles, ShyAnne Stone had a triple and a single and Jacobs had two singles.
