Becca Pantoja’s parents picked the right time to buy their daughter a new bat.

It took Pantoja three at-bats to make good contact with the expensive bat, but when she did, it was well worth the wait for her and Peoria’s softball team. Pantoja belted a 2-run screamer way over Peoria's left field fence to give her team a 4-3 walk-off victory over a Shadow Mountain team that played well for six and a half innings.

Saturday’s win moved Peoria, the No. 14 seed in the Division II state tournament, into the second round in dramatic fashion.

“It felt so good,” said Pantoja about her first career varsity home run. “I felt so good after rounding second base. I said, ‘OK. It’s over.’ But after I rounded third base I felt myself running so ugly.”

But what a beautiful sight it must have been for Peoria’s fans once they saw Pantoja reach home to begin celebrating with her teammates.

                      (Peoria's Becca Pantoja) 

Until the final half inning, No. 19-seeded Shadow Mountain outplayed a young Peoria team that made a couple of base running and defensive mistakes that helped Shadow Mountain grab a 3-1 lead. Before Peoria’s last at-bat, the only other inning in which the squad had runners in scoring position against Shadow Mountain’s savvy senior pitcher, Jacie Lambert, was in the third inning.

But Peoria’s No. 5, 6 and 7 hitters started the seventh inning by getting on base to set up a wild ending. Peoria’s No. 8 hitter then flied out to Shadow Mountain’s center fielder, who immediately threw the ball to her catcher to tag out the runner attempting to score from third.

But Shadow Mountain didn’t keep track of the runner on second base, who also tagged up and eventually scored while nobody was covering home. The runner that was on first for Peoria wound up on third, helping set up Pantoja’s late-game heroics.

The first-year varsity player said she was stressing out when she went to bat. To calm herself, Pantoja took two deep breaths.

The sophomore and her teammates were finally able to exhale after Pantoja’s 2-run blast with a 2-2 count. Up next for Peoria (20-9) is No. 3 seed Raymond S. Kellis, which defeated Peoria twice in the regular season.

Peoria is coached by Bobby Pacheco, the ex-St. Mary’s coaching great who decided to return to coach at a school in his hometown this season.

“We told the girls this was the situation you want to be in,” Pacheco said. “Down by a two in the bottom seventh inning with two outs. There is no better feeling you can have after winning.”