Class A softball: Annie Waters' two home runs propel Davenport past Sterling
Trent Shadid
SHAWNEE — When Davenport needed a clutch hit Friday, they got it from sophomore Annie Waters, twice, in the same inning.
Waters ripped a pair of two-run home runs over the left-field wall in the fourth inning to help propel the Bulldogs to 9-5 win over Sterling in the Class A state softball semifinals.
"It was a very fun experience to do that at the state tournament," Waters said. "I didn't make any adjustments or anything. I just tried to have more confidence as I got up to bat and once I hit the home run, I really think it made the whole team a lot more confident."
The Bulldogs struggled to get their offense going early against Sterling pitcher Madison Bradshaw. Through three innings, the senior hadn't given up a hit and had six strikeouts.
"I tell my girls go up there and swing away no matter what," said Davenport coach Brandy Chavez. "We spend a lot of time hitting and they're ready to do that. It's always just a matter of time before they get going."
Davenport (26-11), ranked 14th in the final regular-season poll, has now won 12 straight games. The defending state champions are 19-2 since starting the season 6-8.
"We play a hard schedule," Chavez said. "People look at the record, but they don't think about who were playing and how good the teams are that beat us. While we were going through the season, we talked about that and how it would help us in the end.
"This is when you want to get hot. We talked about all season. Get to districts and get hot, and we've done that."
Sterling (28-7) didn't go away after falling behind 9-1 through four innings. The Tigers scored four in the fifth to cut the lead to 9-5. Sterling threatened again in the seventh, but Davenport pitcher Amanda Peterson got a strikeout to end the game with the tying run on deck.
"I tell them we have to give seven innings," Chavez said. "(Sterling) is a really good team and we knew they wouldn't quit after that fourth inning. We came up with some big outs after that."
The Bulldogs will play Healdton in the Class A state championship game at 6:15 p.m. Saturday.