How Brin Hecker's bases-clearing double lifted Ell-Saline softball over St. Mary's Colgan

PRATT — There's a reason why Brin Hecker is batting sixth in Ell-Saline's order.

The Cardinal sophomore has struggled at the plate throughout the season, but she found a way to produce at the right time. 

With two strikes, two out and the bases loaded, Hecker delivered a three-run double in the bottom of the third inning that proved to be the difference in the Cardinals' 5-2 first-round victory over Pittsburg Colgan on Thursday in the Class 2-1A state softball tournament at Green Sports Complex.

With the victory, the top-seeded Cardinals improved Ell-Saline to 24-0 and will face Mission Valley in a semifinal game Friday. Colgan's season ended at 11-13. 

"I was like, 'I just need to put the ball in play,'" Hecker said of her big hit. "Our seniors, they've come so far and so I want to help them go even further." 

Ell-Saline coach Kris Bell said the hit should help Hecker through the rest of the tournament. 

Raleigh Kramer, who scored from second base on the double, said she had confidence that Hecker would come through. 

"I know what she can do," Kramer said. "As soon as the ball hit the bat, I knew I was going home. It was amazing that we got those runs. I knew she was going to get us in."

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Kramer added that moving Hecker from top of the order to the middle may have relieved some of the pressure to produce. 

"When she's in that six-hole, it's just have fun (and) hit the ball," Kramer said. "She helps us a lot and gets us all in." 

Raleigh Kramer leads Ell-Saline once again in the circle 

As has been the case most of the season, Ell-Saline turned to Kramer in the pitching circle. After blowing a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning, the Cardinals picked their pitcher up in the bottom half and Kramer shut Colgan out the rest of the way.

The Panthers' biggest threat was in the fifth when they had runners at second and third but couldn't score. 

"I knew we could do it, especially with our outfield," Kramer said. 

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What's next for Ell-Saline

Ell-Saline will face Mission Valley in an 11 a.m. semifinal game Friday on Field A at the Green Sports Complex.The Vikings defeated Spearville, 9-0, in the quarterfinal

If the Cardinals win that game, they play for the championship at 1:30 p.m. A semifinal loss would drop them to the 1 p.m. third-place game.

Ell-Saline's goal was to get past the first round and then aim for more.

"Just going on to tomorrow is pretty exciting for the girls," Bell said. 

Kramer said it's going to be tough, but the Cardinals are there to be a contender.

"We want it just as bad as everyone else," Kramer said. "If we play like we've been playing, we know we've got a good chance at it. We're here to fight for it." 

Dylan Sherwood has been a sports reporter for the Salina Journal since August 2019. He can be reached at dsherwood@salina.com or on Twitter @DSherwoodSJ