No. 3 Centerburg 5, No. 10 Northmor 2
No. 3 Centerburg (19-6, 10-2) battled No. 10 Northmor (14-9, 5-8) in the second round of the Division 3, Region 12 Sectional tournament on May 9, and Chesnee Fairall led the charge with a pair of RBIs to give Centerburg a 5-2 lead.
Both teams put a run on the board in the first inning, but the Trojans pulled away with a three-run second inning, highlighted by an Abby Herrin single that knocked in Fairall. The Lady Trojans added another run in the fourth inning, and while Northmor made a late run with a score in the seventh inning, Centerburg held on to beat the Golden Knights and advance to the next round of the playoffs.
Fairall was 2-for-3 on the day for the Trojans, knocking in two runs and walking once. Herrin was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Kayla Farrell was also 3-for-4, including a triple, and a run scored. Harley Webb also had an RBI for the Trojans.
The Golden Knights were led by Maddie Simpson, who was 1-for-3 with a solo homer. Emily Zeger was 1-for-4 with a triple. Taylor Cantrell went 1-for-3 with a double.
Shelby Morris took the win for Centerburg, going seven innings, allowing two earned runs, six hits, three walks, while striking out 10 batters.
Kate Kissling suffered the loss, going four innings with nine hits allowed, three earned runs and a strikeout.
Previously, Northmor had defeated No. 12 Fredericktown 4-1 in the first round. Centerburg had a bye before this win. The Trojans moved on to face No. 4 Richwood North Union in the semifinals.
No. 7 Mount Vernon 12, No. 36 Dublin Coffman 3
Hailey Rudrick did it all for No. 7 Mount Vernon (19-6, 10-2) in the second round of the Division 1, Region II playoffs against No. 36 Dublin Coffman (2-19, 0-8), smashing a homer and having a perfect day at the plate to lead the Yellow Jackets to a 12-3 win on May 10.
This was the 13th straight loss for the Shamrocks, who could not keep up with the 18-hit barrage stung by the Yellow Jackets.
Mount Vernon went up 2-0 after one inning, and with the game tied at 2-2, the Yellow Jackets put six more runs on the board in the second inning. Presli Pope led off the second inning with a single and after Grace Bates singled, a wild pitch put runners on second and third. Rylee Meyers sacrificed in a run on a bunt. Then with one out, five consecutive singles made the score 7-2. Rudrick then showed off her speed and base-running awareness, taking off from third and coming in before the tag to steal home to make it an 8-2 game.
The Yellow Jackets scored a run in each of the remaining innings. The Shamrocks scored two runs in the second and just one run in the third.
Rudrick went 3-for-3 with a homer, a double, three runs, a hit by pitch and the steal of home. Kennedi Endsley was 3-for-4 and five Mount Vernon players had two hits apiece. McKenzie Krownapple had two hits and three RBIs in the win. Nine Lady Jackets also reached on hits and seven players drove in runs.
Previously, Dublin Coffman knocked off No. 39 Sunbury Big Walnut 14-4. Mount Vernon had a bye game and they moved on to face No. 16 Center Olentangy Orange in the sectional semifinals.
No. 8 Highland 8, No. 11 Bloom-Carroll 2
Guinevere Jackson had the hot bat in the second round of the Division 2, Region 8 sectional tournament, smashing three hits, including a pair of doubles to lead Highland (12-10, 8-5) to an 8-2 win over No. 11 Bloom-Carroll (7-17-1, 6-6) on May 11.
Highland started the game with a two-run first and made it a 6-0 game in the fourth inning when they added four more runs. In the fifth inning, the Bulldogs tacked on a pair of runs, but Highland cruised to the win.
Jackson was 3-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored to lead Highland. Dalaynie Hernandez was 2-for-3 with a run scored. Kaymi Lewis and Stevie Asher both went 1-for-3 and had an RBI.
Asher picked up the win, going seven innings, allowing two earned runs and six hits, while walking three and striking out eight batters.
Previously, Highland beat No. 7 London 12-7 in the first round of the tournament. Next up is the semifinals where the Fighting Scots face No. 2 Granville.
No. 8 Fisher Catholic 11, No. 12 Mount Gilead 1
No. 12 Mount Gilead (3-19, 0-11) faced No. 8 Fisher Catholic (10-8, 8-3) in the opening round of the Division IV, Region 15 playoffs and despite a strong day at the plate by Greer Simpson who homered, the Indians couldn’t keep pace with the Irish in an 11-1 loss.
The Irish started the game with a five-run first inning, and followed in the third inning with four runs. Fisher Catholic then scored a pair of runs in the fifth inning and added a run in the sixth.
Simpson was 2-for-3, with a run and an RBI on the solo homer. Alexis Staats was 1-for-1 with a double. Lillian Ward had a 2-for-2 day to supply the other two hits in the game for the Indians.
Fisher Catholic went on to face top-seeded Mechanicsburg in the second round of the playoffs and were dominated 18-2.
NON-CONFERENCE NON-PLAYOFF TUNEUP
Northmor 14, Mansfield Senior 1
Shelby Cooper was on fire in the pitching circle for Northmor (14-9, 5-8) in a non-conference matchup against Mansfield Senior (1-10, 0-9), in which she tossed a no-hitter to lead the Golden Knights to a blowout 14-1 win on May 12.
Mansfield started the game with a run in the first inning, but Northmor pulled away with two runs in the second inning, four runs in the fourth, two runs in the fifth and six runs in the sixth inning.
Cooper got the win in a no-hit masterpiece, allowing one unearned run over six innings, while striking out eight batters.
Maddie Simpson was the top Lady Knight on offense, going 3-for-4 with a grand slam, a double, four RBIs, four runs scored and a pair of steals. Cooper went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Lexi See and Raelyn Fulk each went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs. Kate Kissling was 1-for-2 with a pair of runs and an RBI. Emily Zeger was 2-for-4 with a run scored.
