In the sixth inning of Friday’s Class 5A title game, St. Thomas Aquinas pitcher Alayna Vaeth started warming up. 

Just in case the Saints needed her.

As the closer, Vaeth spends more time playing in center field than on the mound. But with Aquinas holding a one-run lead, she made sure she was prepared.

“She came up to me and said, ‘Coach, I’m ready to go,’” Aquinas coach Keith Hughes said. “‘Whenever you need me on the mound, I’m ready to go.’”

With Vaeth pitching in the top of the seventh, Aquinas won its first title in 17 years, coming back from five runs down to beat Spring Hill 8-7.

“I’m so happy for the girls,” said Hughes, whose team went 3-1 against Spring Hill this season. “They really work hard. They busted their tails. Fruits of their labor.

“... It’s the senior leadership down to the last out of our game that was made by a freshman (Peylan Ellsworth). We brought in three pitchers. All were very unselfish to get this win.”

Aquinas finished 27-2, while Spring Hill ended 26-5.
 

The game had its share of drama.

In the top of the fourth and the score tied 2-all, Spring Hill had three straight RBI singles. Catcher Nora Burrell followed by hitting a two-run triple to left. She was 2 for 3 with three RBIs.

Spring Hill scored five runs in the inning – all with two outs – to take the 7-2 lead.

“It’s kind of what we’ve done all year,” Spring Hill coach Corey Katzer said. “We battle, battle, battle. We get our opportunities, and we strike.”

First baseman Emma Reeves was 3 for 4 with an RBI, and Olivia Fraley was 2 for 3 with an RBI.

But in the bottom of the fifth with two outs, Aquinas responded with six runs. 

Shortstop Clara Pinkham hit a two-RBI triple to the right field wall to get within 7-4. Designated player Lauren Huenfeld knocked in Pinkham.

And then catcher Ella Przybylski hit her second double of the game, tying the score with a two-RBI double to left. 

On the game’s next pitch, Vaeth scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch.

“Last year we got beat 12-2 by Bishop Carroll (in the title game),” Pinkham said. “That hurt, and it left a bitter taste in our mouths. This year we knew what we wanted, and we never gave up…. We weren’t going to give up. We refused to lose. We hated that feeling last year.”

Hughes wasn’t surprised by the Saints’ comeback.

“When it looks like things are at their worst, they really step up and become their best,” he said. “(Thursday) night we were down 2-0 to a very good (Shawnee Heights) team, and we came back in the bottom of the seventh to win 3-2.”
 

Przybylski added: “We have a habit of coming back. We knew we were going to pound it on them. Once we scored one, we just kept coming. We’re used to being down, which doesn’t sound like a good thing. But we always seem to get the job done.”

Still, Katzer got what he wanted from his team in the top of the seventh when left fielder Campbell Mermis led off with a double to center.

“As I told them, the only thing I’ve ever asked them is when you get to the last inning that you give yourself the opportunity to either tie or win the game. They did that,” he said. 

But that’s when Hughes brought in Vaeth to pitch.

She faced Spring Hill designated player Haley Clark, who smacked a 1-1 pitch back at Vaeth. 

Vaeth caught it for the out and whipped around to throw to second to get the double play, setting up the game-ending groundout to second.

“(Clark) comes up and hits the ball harder than any ball she’s hit all weekend,” Katzer said. “And as I said, it was pitch, the glove was there. She hit it so hard that it stuck.”

Vaeth added: “I didn’t know the ball was in my glove. It was crazy.”