Down to their final out, Pella needed everything to go just right to have a chance to come back and beat their crosstown rivals.
And right it went, as the Lady Dutch scored four runs with two outs in the 7th to tie, and two runs in the bottom of the 8th to win against the Eagles 8-7 in an extra-innings thriller heard live on 92.1 KRLS.
Pella Christian dominated the first five innings, scoring six runs behind a four-run 2nd and a Lizzy Van Manen home run in the 3rd. After scoring a pair in the bottom of the sixth, the Lady Dutch had five hits and a walk against a tiring Emma Schnell in the 7th. A Chloe Dembski RBI single gave PC a one-run lead into the bottom of the 8th, before Pella would rally again and end it in walk-off fashion.
With first base open, Coach Karen Harrill had reliever Natalie Vos pitch to a red-hot Lydia Dingeman, who drove in the winning run. She told KNIA/KRLS Sports she accepts full responsibility for the loss, and, in hindsight, felt she made some costly decisions during the final two frames.
Pella coach Robin Llewellyn was pleased with the performance of all of her players, in particular, the young players that helped lead the 7th inning comeback.
Lydia Dingeman was 4-for-5 with two doubles and the game winner, Sara Tallman was 2-for-4 with a walk. The Eagles were led by a 3-for-4 night by Dembski, who drove in 2.
The Lady Dutch are 13-10 and take on Oskaloosa tonight; Pella Christian falls to 15-6 and have a few days to recoup before their home tournament Saturday.