Wildcats, Cards earn sectional softball titles
MINSTER — The Minster softball team opened sectional play on Thursday with a 15-1 victory over Spencerville in a sectional final.
The Wildcats are now 17-6 on the season. They will face Fort Recovery, which defeated Marion Local 2-1 in 9 innings, in a district semifinal game on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Mikaela Hoskins, Gabrielle Wehrman and Brooklyn Osterloh split the pitching duties. Hoskins and Wehrman each worked two innings, and Osterloh had one.
Each allowed one hit. Hoskins and Wehrman had one walk apiece. Hoskins and Wehrman had two strikeouts each, and Osterloh got one.
Minster had 12 hits in the victory. Lyndi Hemmelgarn and Savanah Bergman had three each, with Addi Inskeep hitting two doubles, and Emma Linn getting two hits.
Inskeep had four RBIs, Hannah Oldiges collected three, and Hemmelgarn and Bergman drove in two each. Others with RBIs were Hoskins, Kennedy Korte, and Alayna Prenger.
In the bottom of the first, Hemmelgarn reached on an error and Bergman singled. Inskeep reached as Hemmelgarn was forced out at third base.
A misplayed grounder let in Bergman, and Inskeep scored on a sac fly by Oldiges to make it 2-0.
The Lady Bearcats scored a run in the second.
In the home half, Hemmelgarn singled, went to third on a hit by Bergman, and came in on an error.
The next inning was the big one for the Lady Wildcats. Two errors and a single loaded the bases with one out. Prenger’s hit to center drove in one, and Hemmelgarn drove home another. An error allowed Linn to score, then Inskeep’s double cleared the bases and made it 9-1.
Two more errors allowed runners to advance and push Minster’s lead to 10 runs.
After Spencerville went in order, Minster added four more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Linn
singled and scored on a double by Hemmelgarn. Bergman’s hit drove Hemmelgarn across, and Inskeep’s two-bagger brought Bergman around. After a flyout, Korte singled up the middle and Inskeep crossed with the final run.
Spencerville got one hit in the top of the fifth, and the game ended due to rule.
Minster will play its final regular season game today, a makeup contest with Versailles, at 5 p.m.
Score by innings
Spencerville 010 00 -- 1 3 8
Minster 218 4x -- 15 12 2 ——————— New Bremen 4,
Crestview 2 CONVOY — New Bremen pulled an upset, scoring twice in the top of the seventh to knock off second seed Crestview in a sectional final on Thursday.
The Lady Cardinals scored one run in the first and one in the third. That held until the sixth when the Lady Knights tied it.
Ella Pape had what proved to be the decisive blow, getting a single to left with one out and the bases loaded. Adriana Heitkamp and Allison Hays scored on the play.
Ross then got the final three outs in the bottom half to keep the Lady Cards’ season going.
New Bremen improves to 7-14. They will face the winner of the game between Lincolnview and Parkway in a district semifinal at Wapakoneta on Tuesday. It will be the second game of a doubleheader, following Minster and Fort Recovery, and start at about 6 p.m.
Ross went the distance in the pitcher’s circle, allowing two runs on six hits. She walked two and struck out 12.
At the plate, Pape had three hits total and drove in all four runs. Hays had three hits and a walk and Alivia Dammeyer hit a double.
In the top of the first, Hays led off with a walk. The next two batters were retired. Pape singled to right field, and Hays came all the way around to put New Bremen on the board.
In the third frame, Hays connected for a single with one away. Dammeyer was hit by a pitch. After a liner was caught for the second out, Pape sent a double to center, bringing Hays in for the second time.
Ross gave up only a walk in the second and a single in the fourth to Crestview.
Hays singled and Dammeyer doubled to start the fifth, but were stranded after a groundout and two strikeouts.
Crestview left two aboard in the bottom half, with the third out coming at the plate.
In the sixth, Crestview started off with two singles. One run later scored after a popup, and another single pushed across the tying run. Ross then got a strikeout to end the inning.
Heitkamp put down a bunt hit, and went to second on Hays’ single to center. The Lady Knights got a groundout, with the runners moving to second and third. Ross was struck by a pitch to load the bases.
Pape fouled off two, then sent one into left, putting New Bremen back in front. Ross was tagged out at second.
Gabby Wilker singled, then was forced out at second. Ross got a line out to second and fly out to center. She allowed a single, then closed it out with a three-pitch strikeout.