Liberty softball team wins on Shipman's walk-off homer

Saige Shipman hit a walk-off home run with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning Friday to give the Liberty High School softball team a 9-8 victory over Shadow Hills in the first round of the CIF Division 5 playoffs.

The home run was the second of the game for the sophomore catcher and helped the Bison improve their season record to 18-3-1. They will be at home again Tuesday afternoon for a second-round game against Viewpoint High.

“They threw her a changeup and she spanked it over the wall,” coach Jeff Pena said about the winning home run. The girls just played a great game.”

Liberty had a 6-2 lead going into the top of the sixth inning when Shadow Hills loaded the bases. The next batter hit a grand slam, tying the score at 6-6. But the Bison kept their cool and scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth on Kayen Brown’s two-run single for an 8-6 lead heading into the final inning of regulation play.

Shadow Hills wasn’t going away, either. The visiting Knights scored two runs to tie the score again at 8-8, and Liberty failed to score in the bottom of the inning, sending the game to an extra inning.

Liberty relief pitcher Brooklyn Abeyta, who homered earlier in the game, held Shadow Hills scoreless in the top of the eighth, setting the stage for Shipman’s heroics in the bottom of the inning.

Kaylee Fraund was another star for the Liberty offense with a three-run home run in the first inning.

“Our players didn’t get flustered after the grand slam,” Pena said. “Even when they tied it again in the seventh, there was no panic. It was a great game.”