Highland senior Stevie Asher kept Bloom-Carroll in check on Thursday, as her Scots picked up a 6-2 win to advance to the district semifinals.
Rob Hamilton | Morrow County Sentinel
A four-run fourth inning was crucial for Highland’s softball team Thursday night in their 6-2 sectional final win over visiting Bloom-Carroll.
The Scots held a 2-0 lead at that point, but had been the victims of missed opportunities, allowing their opponents to escape bases loaded situations in both the first and third innings. Making matters worse, it looked like history was about to repeat itself in the fourth.
After Guinevere Jackson opened the inning on second base after the Bulldogs dropped a deep fly ball and Kate Clements followed with a single, Stevie Asher was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no one out. However, Bloom-Carroll was able to record a double play off a line drive to record two quick outs and leave the Scots with runners on first and second.
The team would not be denied this time, though. Dalaynie Hernandez drew a walk to load the bases again and Kaymi Lewis followed with a two-run double to make it a 4-0 game. Abby Jordan then cracked a ground ball that was misplayed by the Bulldogs to allow two more runs to cross home plate and give her team a commanding lead.
“That’s something we’ve been fighting throughout the year,” said head coach Abby Steele. “We get runners on and figuring out how to score them. The girls did a really good job rallying together and scoring those runs in that inning and getting us that comfort lead. As you saw, Bloom came back and got two runs right away. We did what we needed to do today against a great program, so we’re just looking forward to districts now.”
Bloom-Carroll would respond with two runs in the top of the fifth inning, but would not be able to generate any more offense. After struggling a bit on the mound in the fifth, surrendering hard hit balls for a double and triple, as well as letting a run in via a wild pitch, Asher settled down for the final two frames, only giving up a walk in the sixth and a two-out single in the seventh to advance to a Tuesday district semifinal game at Granville.
“That was a 14-player game,” said Steele. “The pitching and catching was outstanding. Our defense did what they needed to do and played smooth and got behind our pitcher. Our girls in the dugout, too. Nonstop cheering and nonstop having our backs. I’m really proud of this team right now.”
One pleasant surprise for the Scots was being able to play their sectional final on their home field. Both the Scots and Bulldogs won road games in their first postseason action as lower seeds, but with Highland being the eighth seed and Bloom-Carroll being the 11th, the Scots were the home team Thursday.
“Seeing two upsets in the first round — us beating London and them beating Hartley — brought us home for maybe our last home game depending on schedules and rain,” said Steele. “It was great to have one good home game and let that be the one that took us to districts.”
Highland led the entire way. After Asher pitched a perfect first inning, Highland wasted no time in getting on the board. Jackson opened the bottom of the first with a double and was driven in by a one-out single by Asher. Aubree Bellamy made it runners on the corners after her sacrifice bunt attempt was misplayed by the Bulldogs. A successful two-out double steal by Highland would then give them a 2-0 lead.
The Scots could have gotten more in the inning, but the third out was recorded with the bases loaded. The same thing happened in the third inning. Bellamy drew a walk to open the inning and Hernandez followed with a single. A double steal put runners on second and third with no one out, but Highland couldn’t take advantage of that situation.
A strikeout and pop-up led to two quick outs and, after Abbi Burke drew a walk to load the bases, the Bulldogs were able to induce a groundout to escape unscathed.
However, they would not be able to get out of the fourth inning, allowing Highland to manufacture some breathing room on their way to winning and advancing.
Steele was pleased with her team. After reaching the district finals last year with a team led by eight seniors, the Scots duplicated that feat with a much less experienced squad.
“Coming in last year, we had eight seniors and this year, we’re bringing eight new girls onto the varsity squad and they’ve all come together so well,” she said. “The four seniors that have led them have done just a great job in showing them what it takes to be on the varsity squad. They’ve just stepped right into their roles on defense and offense, so I’m really proud of them because they’re making a fun run right now.”
Rob Hamilton can be reached at 419-946-3010, ext. 1807. Connect with him on Twitter at @SportsMCS
