South Adams defeated at regionals by reigning state champs
Facing the unenviable task of needing to defeat the defending Class 2A Softball State Champions on their home field to extend their season, the South Adams Starfires hung tough, but it was Natalie Lower and the Eastside Blazers
who advanced to semi-state with an 8-2 win. Knocking off Eastside (292, 10-0 Northeast Corner, 2-0 IHSAA) in Butler always was going to be a tall order for South Adams (19-10, 3-3 Allen County, 3-1 IHSAA) and the Blazers put the Starfires on the ropes early. With the stadium packed with spectators on both sides- two main grandstands flanking home plate with smaller sets of bleachers past the dugouts and lawn chairs sprawling down close to the foul poles- the Blazers scored twice in the first inning. Adorned in their green and yellow uniforms, Eastside started their half of the first inning with a walk that was drawn by Jayci Kitchen.
Kitchen successfully stole second base, before moving to third on a ground out. Facing a 1-2 count, Kathryn O’Brien lined a pitch thrown by Gracy Bixler into left field for a double. Kitchen cruised in from third to put the Blazers up 1-0.
They doubled the advantage when Grace McClain lined the ball to center for a base hit to bring O’Brien around third and across home plate.
The Starfires would limit the damage to only two runs, but Eastside came flying out of the gates and South Adams were in need of answers. But instead of finding solutions, they ran into more problems in the bottom of the second.
Back-to-back walks to start the inning followed by a successful sacrifice bunt put two runners in scoring position. Paris Santos- who was the courtesy runner for Lower- scored on a passed ball.
Lillian Cline hit a ground ball, but an error allowed Cline to reach safely and two runs to score. Cline was tagged out at third on the play, however, the Blazers widened the lead to 5-0.
The Starfires would cut into the Eastside lead their next time up.
Donning their predominantly white uniforms, South Adams scored a run when Macy Pries drove a single to left field. Cora Baker- who singled in the previous at-bat- likely would have stopped at second, but the ball skipped past the left fielder and rolled to the wall. Baker raced home to score, putting the Starfires on the scoreboard.
Macy Pries scored when Peyton Pries doubled to left, reducing the difference to three runs.
The two runs scored in the inning were the first allowed by Eastside in the state tournament to this point. In sectionals, the Blazers handily defeated Central Noble 12-0 before making a statement against Westview with a 22-0 win in the sectional championship game.
But the momentum was short-lived as the Eastside offense would get a run back an inning later. McClain singled, then Grace Kreischer walked. Lower brought in Kresicher from second on a single to right to push the margin back up to four.
After South Adams created an offensive spark in the third, Lower- who pitched a complete-game for the Blazers- regained control and set the Starfires down in order in the fourth. Lower had a terrific game, keeping the Starfires at-bay offensively for much of the contest, only conceding runs in the third.
Things might have gotten worse for the Starfires were it not for a great sliding catch in center field by Baker.
The Blazers would notch another run in the fifth, however, when Kitchen laid down a bunt and reached first on an error. Santos scored on the error and Eastside went up five.
The home side scored again in the sixth to provide additional insurance. Moyra McAtee singled to left field to score O’Brien, requiring half-a-dozen runs from South Adams to keep the game alive.
With it all to do, the Starfires started the inning promisingly. Mackenzie Neuenschwander posted a double. She was swapped out on the base paths by Courtesy Runner Avery Brown, but Brown would get no further than second.
The next three batters were retired in order, sending the Blazers back to semi-state.
Eastside will aim to continue their title defense against Madison-Grant in the semi-state semifinals. Madison-Grant defeated Lapel by the same scoreline that Eastside used to knock off South Adams.
The winner of that contest will compete in the semi-state championship game against the winner of Andrean versus Delphi Community.
All of those games will be played on Saturday in Warsaw, Indiana.
The loss snapped a run of six consecutive wins for South Adams. Their last loss came back on May 17th at Wapahani.