Lake Stevens softball topples Jackson on walk-off HR (video)

LAKE STEVENS — Emma Fortney picked the perfect time for her first home run of the season.

The Lake Stevens junior launched a two-run walk-off homer over the right-center field fence in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift the Vikings softball team to a 3-1 win over previously unbeaten Jackson in a Wesco 4A showdown Tuesday afternoon.

“I didn’t really see it until I hit it,” Fortney said. “I was just looking for a good pitch to hit. … I could tell I hit it pretty hard as soon as I made contact, so I knew it was going far.”

Fortney’s game-winner came after Jackson standout Iyanla Pennington blasted a game-tying home run well over the left-field fence in the top of the seventh.

“I was pretty hyped, because they had just hit a home run on us,” Fortney said. “So it just felt good to come back and win it for my team.”

FINAL: Lake Stevens 3, Jackson 1.

Lake Stevens’ Emma Fortney lined a walk-off two-run homer over the right-center field fence in the bottom of the seventh. pic.twitter.com/GGBBl3mb3U

— Cameron Van Til (@CameronVanTil) May 2, 2018

Fortney was swarmed by her teammates after she jumped on home plate in celebration of the dramatic win, which moved Lake Stevens (14-1 overall, 10-1 Wesco 4A) into a first-place tie with Jackson atop the league standings. Both teams have three regular-season games remaining.

The Vikings had a chip on their shoulders after a 2-1 loss to the Timberwolves (16-1, 10-1) three weeks ago, when Pennington hit a walk-off double in the bottom of the ninth to cap an epic extra-inning pitcher’s duel.

“They wanted this one really bad,” Lake Stevens coach Sarah Hirsch said.

Vikings senior Sara Johnson, a Towson University signee, outdueled Pennington in yet another riveting clash between the two NCAA Division I-bound pitchers.

Johnson tossed a one-hitter and struck out 17 batters. She walked only one.

The hard-throwing lefty allowed just two base-runners as Jackson’s high-powered offense struggled simply to make contact. The visiting Timberwolves put just four balls into play all afternoon.

“Sara is amazing,” Jackson coach Kyle Peacocke said. “She was dialed in (and) hitting her spots. She had us going for the rise ball pretty much all game. … She was lights-out.”

Lake Stevens senior Sara Johnson tossed a one-hitter in today’s 3-1 win over previously unbeaten Jackson. She finished with 17 strikeouts and only one walk. pic.twitter.com/czhRxLLdwM

— Cameron Van Til (@CameronVanTil) May 2, 2018

Pennington, a junior, entered the day having yielded just two earned runs all season. She allowed three runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings pitched. She struck out 12 and walked six.

Fortney drove in the game’s first run in the bottom of the third, lining a one-out single that bounced off the charging center fielder’s glove and scored Cory Bardue from second base.

Lake Stevens’ 1-0 lead held until Pennington ended Johnson’s no-hit bid with one out in the top of the seventh, pulling an 0-2 fastball for a game-tying home run.

Jackson’s Iyanla Pennington hammered a two-strike fastball over the left-field fence for a game-tying home run in the top of the seventh.

T-Wolves and Vikings tied 1-1. pic.twitter.com/ConYCsUi3t

— Cameron Van Til (@CameronVanTil) May 2, 2018

But the Timberwolves’ celebration didn’t last long.

Bardue drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh, and two batters later Fortney smacked a 1-0 pitch over the fence for an opposite-field game-winner. Fortney finished 2-for-3 and drove in all three of the Vikings’ runs.

“She definitely has the power,” Hirsch said. “You wouldn’t think it if you looked at her, but she has it in her. … She came out and squared it up.”