In a game that seemed won, then lost, won and then lost again, No. 1 Jospeh City (27-4) beat No. 2 St. David 11-10 in the bottom of the seventh on a walk-off single from Staisha Murdock with the bases loaded. The deciding at-bat for the Wildcats came after the Tigers (21-6) scored two runs in the top half of the inning to comeback from a 9-8 deficit.

The championship was the tenth in program history dating back to 2000 and the second in a row for head coach Daniel Hutchens. Hutchens also led the program to a runner-up finish in 2023. Only Seton Catholic, with 12 championships, has more trophies. The game was also the 16th championship appearance for the Wildcats, putting the program two behind San Manuel with 18. For St. David, it was the third runner-up finish in program history dating back to 2004, but current head coach Yogi Wilson led Benson to back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018.

There were 21 hits in the game but also an unofficial eight errors and that’s how the bottom of the sixth started when an infield pop fly was dropped by the Tigers and that start a chain reaction with Murdock coming through with a two-run double to tie the game up 8-8 and then Murdock took home on a passed ball later in the inning. Those three unearned runs were indicative of the night.

Still, the Wildcats plated four runs in the bottom of the first inning, the old-fashioned way, off a two-run triple from Audrey Neill and a two-run homer from Gabby Jesmer. The Tigers scored three runs in the top of the third and four more in the of the fourth to take a 7-4 lead. St. David led 8-6 in the top of the sixth but couldn’t hold the lead.

Lorelai Sander (13-4) started the game in the circle for the Wildcats and she was replaced by Sahzira Schoby (10-0) in the fourth. The duo gave up three earned runs with four strikeouts. Murdock went 3-5 with two doubles and four RBI, Jesmer went 3-4 with a double, home run and three RBI and Neill went 2-3 with a double, triple and two RBI.

Paisley Gooding (21-4) collected eight strikeouts in the loss. Austyn Hatch went 4-5 with an RBI, Jasmien Wise had a double and two RBI and Emelynn Jacquez went 2-3.

(Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

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