The Llano High School softball team earned its latest District 5-3A victory in dramatic fashion March 31.
On its home field where the Lady Jackets have earned some memorable wins with junior catcher Emilie Clopton behind the plate, it was her bat that delivered.
With the bases loaded and wanting to end the game in five innings, Clopton took a fastball over the left-center field wall, some 235 feet to enact the mercy rule for an 18-7 victory.
No Lady Jacket wanted to be in that batter's box more than Clopton.
"When I saw them start scoring, I wanted to be up there," she said. "I knew we wouldn't be done. I wanted to be (at the plate) … because I popped out twice in this game. I gotta make up for something here."
"This was a big team win," head coach Tim Hulon said. "The walk-off home run was awesome."
Florence scored two runs at the top of the first inning only to have give up four in the bottom of the same inning, all on walks.
With two Lady Buffs on base, a line drive was hit to freshman second baseman Emmaryee Roberson, who caught the ball then touched second base for the solo double play en route to getting helping the Lady Jackets escape the inning without allowing a run.
Then Llano scored four runs in the bottom of the same inning thanks to a RBI triple by sophomore Karli Wyatt and a RBI by senior third baseman Lanee McCurry for a 6-2 advantage.
The Lady Jackets plated eight runs in the third inning for a commanding 14-3 lead.
But Florence scored four runs in the fifth inning in a effort to extend the game, leading to Clopton's heroics.
Plenty pleased head coach Tim Hulon about this game, especially since he saw his players put into action what they've been emphasizing.
One is forcing pitchers into longer counts. He noted the Lady Jackets had shown some impatience at the plate. The solution was for each batter to recognize what pitch she can drive and then wait for the pitcher to throw it.
He commended his players for showing all of that against Florence en route to recording 14 hits led by Clopton's five RBI followed by three RBI by senior Jayme Duroy, junior Savannah Gibson and Roberson. Junior Maddie Whittenburg had 2 RBI and Wyatt had one and senior Morgan Williamson had one off a standup RBI triple.
"Don't get ourselves out by chasing pitches," he said. "I thought the girls executed that much better.
The other was the enthusiasm he heard from the dugout. To say the Lady Jackets played freely is an understatement. They danced as they chanted, which helped the batters keep the same mindset as they walked to the plate. The team took that to the field at the top of each inning.
"I thought we had great energy," Hulon said. "We know that with girls, that correlates a lot. They stuck to a plan at the plate and I thought offensively, we had a pretty good night."
Defensively, the Lady Jackets were equally dominant. They recorded four double plays with most of them solo. McCurry had one where she dived for the ball then crawled to the base to touch it. Senior Lyndi Landers also had a one.
Hulon commended the infielders for making the difficult look routine.
"It allows you to keep a lot of momentum," he said. "When you make a play like that, the energy stays high. It allows you to keep momentum and solid energy."
Pitcher Duroy allowed six earned runs off six hits with six walks and five strikeouts.
"I thought Jayme battled," the coach said. "She did a good job of keeping her composure."
Llano entered the contest after losing to Blanco 17-2 March 29.
"I thought this was big coming back after a tough week," Hulon said. "Each win will be big and important."
The Lady Jackets travel to Florence for a 6:00 p.m. contest Friday, April 4, and travel to Ingram Monday, April 7, for a 7:00 p.m. game.
