Wichita’s Kelsey Stewart hits walk-off homer in Olympics: ‘It’s like you dream about’
Wichita has once again played a key role for Team USA in the second straight Olympics.
Kelsey Stewart, a Wichita resident and Maize high school graduate, had Wichita in the national news again late Sunday evening when she hit a walk-off home run to lift the United States softball team to a 2-1 victory over Japan and first place in the group stage.
In the 2016 Rio Olympics, Wichita native Nico Hernandez captured the nation’s attention when he became the first U.S. boxer to win an Olympic medal since 2008 (a bronze in the light flyweight division).
While the U.S. and Japan were already locked into Tuesday’s gold-medal game, Stewart’s blast to lead off the seventh inning will allow Team USA to bat last on Tuesday. And her home run even earned her — and Wichita — a shout-out from NBC Olympics host Mike Tirico on the national broadcast.
“It’s like you dream about when you’re a little kid, about hitting a home run at the Olympics, let alone a walk-off,” Stewart told the Associated Press.
It was a release of frustration for Stewart, who had been struggling at the plate (1-for-12 with no runs batted in) before her final plate appearance on Sunday. She turned on an inside pitch from pitcher Yamato Fujita and sent it sailing over the right-field fence for Team USA’s first home run of the tournament and to help the team finish with a perfect 5-0 record in group stage play.
This wasn’t the first time the University of Florida graduate has had a walk-off hit in Japan. In fact, it’s how the U.S. team punched its ticket to the Tokyo Olympics in the first place.
Back in August 2018, Stewart drilled a game-winning single through the infield to cap a thrilling, three-run comeback in the 10th inning for the U.S. in a 7-6 win over Japan at the Women’s Softball World Championships in Japan to earn the Olympic bid.
The U.S. will play Japan for the Olympic gold at 6 a.m. Central time Tuesday with the game broadcast on NBC Sports Network.
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