“I was happy with eight hits off a great pitcher,” SAHS coach Makayla Taylor said. “But we stranded a lot of baserunners. Going against a two-time state champion, we have nothing to hang our heads about. I’m very proud of these girls.”

As mentioned, the difference was the four-run second. Mikaylin Hofer led off with a base hit and Dakota Downing followed with a walk. A strikeout and double steal left runners at second and third with one out. Morgan Hofer then hit a slow ground ball to St. Anthony shortstop Cameran Rios. She made a strong throw home, but Mikaylin Hofer slid across the plate just before the tag with the first run of the game.

Payton Brown, who entered the game with a robust .574 batting average, lined a two-run single, and Kendra Lewis followed with another RBI hit to cap the inning and give the Rockets a 5-1 advantage.

After that, St. Anthony pitcher Lucy Fearday shut down that high-powered offense. Taylor Ridge was limited to just one hit, three baserunners and one more run the rest of the way.

“We just had that one inning we kind of fell apart,” Taylor said. “But that was the difference.”

The Lady Bulldogs had a golden opportunity to take an early lead. Cameran Rios lined the first pitch of the game into centerfield for a lead-off single. One out later, Addie Wernsing drew a walk and Hailey Niebrugge got an infield single to load the bases. But the next two batters struck out to end the threat.

“That first inning could have been huge,” Taylor noted. “We wanted to get baserunners on to apply some pressure. We had a chance. We had the bases loaded, but just fell short.”

The Rockets got an RBI double from Kori Needham in the bottom of the first, but the Lady Bulldogs tied it up in the top of the second. With one out, Abbi Hatton connected on a 2-2 pitch and blasted a monster home run that banged off the scoreboard beyond the 210-foot sign in rightfield.

“I was hoping that would be a momentum changer,” Taylor said.

After Taylor Ridge took the 5-1 lead, it stayed that way until the fifth.

Cameran Rios, again, led off with a base hit and went to second on a passed ball. Wernsing then delivered her second hit, driving in Rios and trimming the lead to 5-2.

But that was all the runs SAHS could score. The Rockets added their final run in the sixth.

The Lady Bulldogs put two runners on base in the seventh, but Niebrugge hit a long fly ball to centerfield for the final out of the game.

Fearday pitched a strong game for St. Anthony. The senior allowed six hits and six runs. She walked three and struck out three, while throwing 87 pitches. She is now 19-2 on the season.

Lewis, just a junior, improved to 24-0 for the year. She gave up eight hits and two runs. She walked two and struck out six in her 106-pitch outing.

“Lucy pitched a great game. We couldn’t ask for anything more,” Taylor said. “Lewis is very good. She throws a nice rise ball and screw ball. But I thought our girls stayed disciplined and did very well against her.”

Taylor Ridge will try to make it three state championships in a row when it faces Beecher (36-4) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

St. Anthony (24-4) will play Johnson City (24-4) at 1 p.m. in the third place game.

This is the second state tournament appearance in three years for the Lady Bulldogs. Two years ago, they finished runner-up in the Class 1A tournament. After moving up to Class 2A, they reached the sectional championship last year and are now competing in the state tourney.

“This shows how gritty we play,” Taylor said. “We play with fire. We got a taste of the state tournament two years ago, and the coaches and players really wanted to get back. This is 100 percent a special group. These girls always find a way.

“I can’t say enough about them,” the coach added. “Playing for third place is still amazing and I know they’ll give it their all.”