The South Hamilton senior had the chance to be the hero, but she’d been there before and come up empty, including just two innings earlier when she hit into a force-out with a pair of runners aboard.

But this time, she feasted.

With her team trailing the ninth-ranked (Class 3A) Trojans 1-0, Wintermote jumped on a Porter offering and showed it the exit via left field for a three-run home run. It was all the offense South Hamilton needed to knock off West Marshall, 3-1.

“I went up to bat and just wanted to cream it,” Wintermote, who was also the winning pitcher, said after the Hawks improved to 4-4 against ranked teams. “I wanted to just hit it as hard as I can. I didn’t care where I put it, I just wanted to hit it hard.”

The celebration was held just outside the South Hamilton dugout Tuesday night after the Hawks knocked off ninth-ranked (Class 3A) West Marshall, 3-1. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

With howling winds blowing in throughout the game, Wintermote was uncertain if the ball would travel far enough for her fifth dinger of the season. But a quick prayer seemed to do the trick.

“When I rounded first, I was like, ‘Please, God, just shot off the wind. Just turn it off.’ So, yeah, it was a really good feeling,” she said.

Wintermote finished 2 for 4 at the dish — she also laced a first-inning double into the gap in right-center — which accounted for half of South Hamilton’s four hits. Porter was stingy for much of the tilt; the only other hits she allowed were second- and third-inning singles to Lily Skartvedt and Marla Grubb.

Even without a truckload of hits, South Hamilton (18-8), which has three wins over top-10 teams, had plenty of chances to seize command long before Wintermote’s long ball. The Hawks stranded nine runners on base in the first five innings, four of them in scoring position. But head coach Rusty Wintermote had a hunch that, eventually, his club would break through.

“We weren’t striking out. We were putting the ball in play, we were just getting it up,” he said. “But the girls didn’t even worry. Even when there were two outs, you didn’t see stressful swings. So that was the nice part that they didn’t give up.”

South Hamilton left fielder Lily Skartvedt comes up empty in her attempt to snag a foul ball down the line during the seventh inning on Tuesday. She also had a hit in the Hawks’ 3-1 victory over No. 9 (Class 3A) West Marshall. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Porter was her own worst enemy in the sixth. She issued a lead-off walk to Brittany Spindler and then, with two outs, plunked Hawks’ lead-off hitter Alissa Moss in the back to allow Wintermote, the team’s most dangerous hitter, another chance with runners on base.

“She stepped up there with a smile on her face,” Rusty Wintermote said of his youngest daughter.

West Marshall (26-4) plated its only run in the top of the first inning. Brooke Snider opened the game by reaching on an error and she later scored on a RBI base hit to left by Renae Schaber.

Snider put several other scares into Wintermote with deep fly balls in the third and fifth innings. Both towering shots were knocked down in the wind though.

With one runner aboard in the seventh, Snider stepped in again and turned on several Wintermote offerings, but hit them foul. She sent a ball out of the park in left during the at bat, but it was foul by several feet.

DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Other than those few anxious moments, Wintermote was in control in the circle. She entered the game with just 12 innings and seven strikeouts under her belt this season, but fanned 10 Trojans in a complete-game five-hitter to improve to 4-0.

“It was good to come back after pitching for so long when I was younger,” she said. “It feels good that I can get one good win under my belt in my senior year.”

The Hawks committed three errors behind their hurler, but they also made several stellar plays when the game was on the line. Kylie Kripps led-off the seventh for West Marshall and hit a blooper into no man’s land on the infield behind the pitching circle on the second-base side of the diamond. But shortstop Katie Johnson, who was playing deep, got a good jump on the ball and made a diving catch in front of second baseman Brittany Spindler and third baseman Taylor Volkmann.

“Katie Johnson made just an awesome catch,” Ady Wintermote said.

West Marshall had runners at first and third with two outs when Katie Price sent a bullet down the third-base line. But Volkmann had it shaded perfectly and speared the liner to end the threat and game.

DFJ photo/Troy Banning

South Hamilton 3, West Marshall 1

Tuesday at Jewell

W. Marshall 100 000 0 — 1 5 2

S. Hamilton 000 003 x — 3 4 3

Grace Porter and Karisa Blocker. Ady Wintermote and Breanne Diersen. W — Wintermote. L — Porter. 2B — SH: Wintermote. HR — SH: Wintermote. RBI — WM: Renae Schaber; SH: Wintermote (3).