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FARMINGDALE — Olivia Maynard found the right time to hit her first home run.
Holding onto a 4-1 lead in the fifth inning, Maynard smacked a Paxton Lessard pitch over the red-meshed fence in left field for a two-run homer, giving the Bulldogs a 6-1 lead.
Hall-Dale went on to beat Monmouth 7-3 in a Western Class C quarterfinal game. The No. 2 Bulldogs (13-4) will play Mountain Valley in the semifinals Saturday.
No. 7 Monmouth finishes 10-7.
Maynard, a junior, didn’t realize at first that the ball landed over the fence. When she realized she hit the homer, she grabbed her helmet in disbelief while rounding the bases. She finished the day with two hits — the other a triple that led to the Bulldogs first run — as well as a stolen base.
“I kind of stopped at first, because I thought (the left fielder) was going to catch it,” Maynard said. “I thought I got a little under it but I guess it was just enough.”
Maynard was able to shut the Mustangs down in the circle as well, but it didn’t come easy. Monmouth scored two runs in the seventh inning and loaded the bases, setting up a potential comeback. But Kristen Kemp hit a groundball to Maynard, who threw to sister and catcher Emily Maynard at home plate for the force out to end the game.
“I knew I had my team behind me, I just wanted to get it done for them,” Maynard said.
Tied 0-0 in the second inning, Olivia Maynard ripped a Becki Bryant pitch down the right field line, hustling around the bases for the triple. Kayla Johnson plated Maynard moments later with an RBI single into center field.
Hall-Dale added three more runs in the third inning thanks to small ball and errors by Monmouth. Emily Maynard hit a single and reached third moments later after Eva Shepherd slapped a single to left field and the throw to third base was off target. A bunt single by Becca Ackerson scored Emily Maynard, and Shepherd scored after Olivia Maynard reached first on an infield error, giving Hall-Dale a 3-0 lead. Ackerson scored on the back end of a double steal with Olivia Maynard, upping the Bulldogs’ lead to 4-0.
“It allowed a little breathing room,” Hall-Dale head coach Christen Lachapelle said. “I think these girls are buying into an understanding that small ball wins games. Obviously they all want the glory, they want the home run. (Maynard’s) home run was the first over-the-fence home run all year long. They’ve done what I’ve asked them, they played small ball. We got kids that can put (bunts) down and beat it out.”
“We had one bad inning,” Monmouth co-head coach Dave Kaplan said. “It wasn’t a terrible inning, but just a couple of plays where we didn’t quite know what to do with the ball and held it too long. It happens.”
Monmouth got a run back in the fourth, when Caroline Bonenfant scored from second on an RBI single to center field by Mikayla Cameron.
Hall-Dale tacked on one more run in the fifth after Olivia Maynard’s homer. With Johnson on third and courtesy runner Liz Benner on first, the Bulldogs tried another double steal. Monmouth catcher Sabrina Beck tried to throw the ball hard to Lessard, who came in to relieve Byant in the fourth. Lessard, unaware of the attempted play, had her back turned from Beck, and Beck’s throw nailed Lessard square in the back, allowing Johnson to score. Lessard was shaken up but stayed in and finished the game.
Carrie Meehan led the seventh inning off with a walk for the Mustangs. After two quick outs, Bonenfant plated Meehan with an RBI double. Shannon Buzzell walked and Becki Bryant followed with an RBI single, cutting the lead to 7-3. Cameron followed with a walk, but Olivia Maynard finally shut the door on Monmouth by inducing a ground ball from Kristen Kemp to end the game.
“It got intense with the bases loaded,” Lachapelle said. “I wanted to see if Olivia could get herself out of it and she did, so I was happy for her.”
Bonenfant and Bryant each had two hits for Monmouth, while Kylie Kemp had two hits and two stolen bases.
“The kids just battled all year, they battled until the end,” Kaplan said. “There’s just no quit in these kids.”
Hall-Dale will host Mountain Valley (12-5), the No. 6 seed, which upset No. 3 Winthrop 10-1 on Thursday. The Bulldogs and Falcons played once during the season, with Hall-Dale sneaking by with a 3-2 win on May 21.
“We scored in the last inning, it was tied,” Maynard said. “(Mountain Valley) is a really tough team.”
Dave Dyer — 621-5639
Twitter: @Dave_Dyer
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