Dayton players celebrate their 1-0 victory over Pleasant Hill in semifinals of the OSAA Class 3A state playoffs on Tuesday, May 31, 2016, in Dayton.
Dayton’s Kalina Rojas bats as the Piraates defeat Pleasant Hill 1-0 in semifinals of the OSAA Class 3A state playoffs on Tuesday, May 31, 2016, in Dayton.
Dayton’s Haley Couch pitches as the Pirates defeat Pleasant Hill 1-0 in semifinals of the OSAA Class 3A state playoffs on Tuesday, May 31, 2016, in Dayton.
Dayton players celebrate their 1-0 victory over Pleasant Hill in semifinals of the OSAA Class 3A state playoffs on Tuesday, May 31, 2016, in Dayton.
DAYTON — Teddi Hop sat in the dugout with some teammates and burst into tears when she realized she had played her last game at Dayton High School.
But the senior center fielder and the Pirates softball team are far from done.
With two outs in the fifth inning, Hop hit a double and Haley Couch followed with a hit into right field to score Hop from second base and gave Dayton a 1-0 win against Pleasant Hill Tuesday afternoon in the semifinals of the OSAA Class 3A state playoffs.
Hop has played in many big games in her career at Dayton, and the pressure helps her after all these years.
“I’ve just been really blessed for the past couple of years, actually my whole high school career to be on these teams as a Dayton Pirate and make it so far in every sport I’ve played,” Hop said.
“It just hit me and my friend Racheal (Fluke) and (Kate Sutton) that this is our last time playing on this field and it’s kind of bittersweet. I don’t want to be done.”
No. 1 seed Dayton (27-3) advances to play No. 3 seed Rainier in Friday’s Class 3A state championship game at the OSU Softball Complex in Corvallis with its 18th straight win.
The Pirates will be going for their second-consecutive state championship and are in the state title game for the third time in four years and sixth time overall.
For Hop, the title game will be her fifth state championship game appearance – she and a number of softball players were on the Dayton basketball teams that won the past two state championships.
All that experience adds up, but the state championship medals haven’t weighed her down.
“I’m so excited for the next game,” said Hop, daughter of long-time Dayton boys basketball coach Ron Hop. “We’re hungry. We’re hungry for some of us our fourth state championship. I know I am.
“And having it be like my fifth state championship game that I’ve been in, it’s like we have to act like we’ve been here before. I just want to play. I want to play right now. I’m so excited.”
Dayton played a perfect game defensively.
The Pirates let one runner to third base in the game and Couch struck out eight Pleasant Hill batters against two walks and four hits.
“We’ve just had a really good defense and we’ve had at the outs at the perfect times and we’ve had strikeouts at the right times,” said Couch, a junior.
Dayton’s Kalina Rojas reached on an error in the fourth inning and advanced to third on a single by Sutton, but was stranded there.
In the fifth inning Hop hit a rope into left center for a stand-up double to bring up Crouch, who got a clutch hit into right.
Pleasant Hill’s right fielder mishandled Couch’s line drive, but it wouldn’t have mattered as Hop scored easily from second base.
“I can count on her getting on,” Dayton coach Rob Umbenhower said. “If she gets on, then things are going to happen. She’s got speed to score on that base hit. She’s a very intelligent baserunner and if you haven’t noticed, she’s really fast.
“Haley’s been solid all year in that two spot bunting it, but her bat, she’s got a big bat. The two of them together, that’s what it took.”
bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler
Dayton 1, Pleasant Hill 0
PH 000 000 0-0 4 3
DAY 000 010 x-1 5 0
Skelton and Downes; Crouch and Hill. WP- Crouch; LP- Skelton. 2B- Hop (D).