Emmalise Maher's walk-off single beats Fargo North, sends Shanley to state for first time since 2016
May 23—GRAND FORKS — Before Fargo Shanley junior Emmalise Maher came up to bat in the bottom of the seventh inning, she asked, "Why am I always in this situation? " The first-seeded Deacons had runners on first and second and were tied with sixth-seeded Fargo North in the Eastern Dakota Conference's first state qualifier game. Maher delivered a single to shallow right field.
Senior Alexa Gregg rounded the bases and raced home, securing a 4-3 victory for Shanley on Saturday. "We put (Maher) in that situation exactly because that's what she does," Deacons head coach Dale Dingmann said. "The message right away was we've got to fight any way we can to get on base.
You've got to find a way, and these guys have been doing that all year. " Shanley will make its first appearance in the state tournament since 2016. "I knew that they were going to make it home," Maher said.
"Whatever happened, I just wanted to put the ball in play and drive it out there, and it worked. ... It feels pretty good.
I love this game, and it's so exciting. " Junior pitcher Taelyn Card pitched all seven innings to earn the win, striking out six batters and walking one. She allowed six hits and three runs.