Heading into the seventh inning against Seton Catholic in a district semifinal, Rochester led by one and was three outs away from a spot in the district title game.
Moments later, the Warriors trailed, and they went on to lose by one.
“It’s one of those things where we sit on it for a second,” Rochester coach Joni Guerrero said. “And then we gotta flush it … True character shows when things aren’t going good. So either you guys step up now or you don’t.”
The Warriors stepped up in their next game, defeating La Center 20-8 to clinch their second straight tournament berth and third in the last four seasons.
“I think they kind of took that to heart,” Guerrero said. “They made adjustments early, sat back on (pitches), and strung a lot of hits together.”
Rochester trailed 3-1 entering the second inning against La Center, but a six-run second gave them a lead they would never relinquish.
McKenna Vassar cleared the bases with a three-run double to break a 3-3 tie, advanced to third on the throw to the plate, and sprinted home when the throw got past the catcher. She was initially called out, but after the umpires got together and discussed it, she was awarded home plate due to interference.
Addison Morgan added a solo home run in the third, her second straight day with a home run, and Piper Quarnstrom and Layna Demers both added two-run doubles in a four-run sixth. Quarnstrom added another RBI knock in a six-run sixth, and Vassar drove in two more with a triple.
“To be able to bounce back, do the little things, and make adjustments up there, it was huge,” Guerrero said.
Leah Hartley took over in the circle after Layna Demers struck out 13 in the semifinal. Hartley gave up six hits and eight runs, but only four of the runs were charged as earned.
After beating La Center, the Warriors played Elma in the third-place game. The game was called due to darkness with Rochester trailing 13-4 in the top of the fourth. Since both teams have already clinched state berths, the remainder of the game will not be played.
Rochester (15-4) will learn its state tournament seeding when the seeding committee meets on Sunday. If the Warriors earn a top-four seed, they’ll earn a bye to the state quarterfinals on Friday, May 23.
If they are seeded between five and 12, they’ll take the field in Richland in a loser-out Round of 12 game on Thursday, May 22.
“I’m so proud,” Guerrero said. “Coming in from a tough 2A league down to 1A, we had targets on our back … I was really proud and happy to see the perseverance that they had to just come in day in and day out and just grind it out.”
