Staff photo / Brian Yauger Maplewood senior Kaycee Hyde is swarmed by teammates after her walkoff RBI in the 14th inning of Friday’s Division VII regional championship matchup in Dalton.

DALTON — Under the dark skies of Dalton, the spotlight was firmly on Maplewood senior Kaycee Hyde.

Newark Catholic intentionally walked the two batters ahead of Hyde, loading the bases, putting a lot of pressure on the senior.

While she was a substitute for much of the season, Hyde was the star of the show on Friday, hitting a walkoff single to end a marathon of a regional final. Hyde’s hit scored Claire Urchek, and the Rockets won their first district title since 2005, in a 6-5, 14-inning contest over the Green Wave.

“I haven’t played for most of the season, so I was nervous. It was nerve-wracking,” Hyde said. “I’m a good hunter, but going up there, I’m like, ‘Oh my god, I have to lock it all in.’ … I’ve never felt this special in my entire life. This is such a good moment to end my senior year on.”

The game was nearly called due to darkness going into the 14th inning, but both teams insisted on continuing. If neither team could break the deadlock after 14 innings, both were going to have to make the nearly two-hour trip back today to finish.

After six scoreless innings of play, both found success in the box during the 14th.

The Green Wave scored off a passed ball to take a 5-4 advantage. But with its back against the wall, Maplewood did what it did every time Newark Catholic scored. They matched it.

Rockets pitcher Addison Marker took home to knot the game up.

Then Hyde gave Maplewood its first and only lead of the game.

“We started putting the bat on the ball. I’m really proud of our girls for that,” Rockets coach Jessica Urchek said. “I’ve been concentrating on that all week long.”

If there was one clear advantage either team had over the other, it was in the experience department. The Green Wave had six seniors on a 12-player roster, and four juniors. Counter that with Maplewood’s three seniors and five juniors.

Despite some youthful mistakes, when the time came to step up, the Rockets’ young talent did what they had to do.

Both pitchers that saw action against the Green Wave – Marker and Lexi Yannucci – were underclassmen, a sophomore and freshman, respectively.

Marker, who eclipsed 200 pitches by the game’s end, showed poise beyond her years. If she made a mistake, it was apparent that it didn’t stick with her past the next pitch.

The 27-2 Rockets advance to the state semifinals, where they’ll take on Southeastern Local from South Charlestown.

“Everybody’s goal is to get to state one time in their high school career, and honestly, this team’s a pretty young team. So to get a glimpse of that success and carry it through is awesome,” Urchek said. “(Newark Catholic is) from the Columbus area, playing a super tough schedule, so I knew that they had faced good pitching. Their top two batters are phenomenal players, they’re a great team. I give a shout out to them for lasting this long, because it could have been anybody’s game.”

First pitch of the state semifinal is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Firestone Stadium in Akron.