Elkhart, Penn set for finals
MIDDLEBURY — Elkhart's softball team will face defending state champion Penn for a sectional championship.
The Lions earned that opportunity after posting an 11-2 win over Goshen in Class 4A sectional semifinal action on Wednesday at Northridge High School.
In the other semifinal, the Kingsmen blanked Northridge, 10-0.
The meeting between Elkhart (15-8) and Penn (24-6) will take place Friday at 6 p.m. at Northridge High School.
During the regular season, the Kingsmen beat the Lions, 7-0.
"Penn's Penn," said Elkhart coach Matt Walker. "That's a good ball club and they're a well coached team. They are what we want to be. I'm extremely excited for the opportunity to play them. I'm confident in what my team will bring to the table on Friday. I know (Penn) coach (Beth) Zachary is going to have her girls ready too."
ELKHART 11, GOSHEN 2
The Lions scored the final eight runs of this game, with a five-run fifth inning giving Elkhart control of the game at 9-2.
"We've been swinging the bats really the last three and half to four weeks, so I knew it was just a matter of time," said Walker. I knew we would stay true to our offensive philosophy. We opened some things up at the latter half of the ball game and good things happened for us."
Elkhart scored five runs on four hits in the fifth. The biggest hit came from Ava Walker, who delivered a clutch three-run triple with two outs. That hit gave the Lions a 9-2 lead.
"Big-time," Walker said about his daughter's triple. "She put a lot of work in during the off-season, so for her to step up and bust the game open it's a gratifying feeling."
Elkhart added two runs in the sixth to conclude its scoring. In that inning, Deneaja Jackson had an RBI groundout and Natalie Smith singled in a run.
"Our starting pitcher probably got tired a little bit," said Goshen coach Allen Hodge, whose team finishes at 5-20. "But I'm confident that our girls are going to get outs and get out of trouble. But things slip away from us sometimes and I wait a little too long to take a pitcher out.
"But Elkhart is a solid ball club. They're better than what they were early in the season and we're also better than we were early in the season."
A pair of runs in the fourth inning by Goshen cut Elkhart's lead to 3-2. Those runs came home on Kendall Hodge's RBI groundout and Julie Branam's RBI single.
Besides that inning, Lions starting pitcher Laci Stimac was solid. Over seven innings, Stimac allowed eight hits, struck out four and walked one.
It was third straight day of pitching for Stimac, who pitched one inning against Warsaw on Monday before the game was suspended and pitched three more innings on Tuesday when the game resumed.
"Just grit," Matt Walker said about his pitcher's performance on Wednesday. "We were fortunate to put Anna in (on Tuesday) to spell her. We're also fortunate to get a day off on Thursday and be able to rest (Stimac) a little bit."
Stimac also got some great defense behind her on Wednesday, as the Lions finished with no errors. Among the highlights was catcher Bailey Harris-Rogers throwing out two baserunners trying to steal and a double play turned when Jackson in right field caught a line drive and threw to second base for the second out.
"Our defense has been top-notch all season," Walker said. "Our infield is fielding close to .970 collectively."
Offensively, Fionna Topolski, Walker, Stimac and Jackson each had two hits for Elkhart.
Goshen got two hits apiece from Emily Ramirez and Branam.
PENN 10, NORTHRIDGE 0
The Kingsmen wasted little time in taking control of this game, as a six-run first inning by Penn put the Raiders in a deep hole.
A Northridge error on a ball hit by Penn lead-off hitter Izzi Hanna led to four of those runs being unearned. On the play, Northridge first baseman Felice Blasko dropped the ball while trying to tag out Hanna.
It took awhile before the runner was ruled safe.
"I just asked (the umpires) to talk about it," said Northridge coach Andrew Robinson. "I thought my girl had the ball long enough."
What followed after the error, was a two-run triple from Ava Zachary, along with an RBI double from Peyton Dwigans and an RBI single from Peyton Rudge.
Dwigans RBI single in the sixth inning ended the game by mercy-rule.
"We just wanted to come out and play a good, solid game," said Penn coach Beth Zachary. "We played excellent defense and I was happy to see that."
Ashlyn Kronewitter and Dwigans each had three hits for Penn, while teammates Ava Zachary, Logan Rumble and Shannon Rudge each added two.
"They're strong up and down their lineup," Robinson said about Penn. "One through nine they all hit the ball hard.
"I thought (Northridge starting pitcher) Addi (Knisley) did a really good job in the last five innings of keeping them off balance."
Penn starting pitcher Olivia Signorino tossed a one-hitter, struck out 10 and walked four. Northridge's lone hit was a single from Blasko in the second inning.
"Olivia did a great job," Beth Zachary said. "She mixed up speeds and attacked the zone when she needed to."
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ELKHART 11, GOSHEN 2
Goshen;000;200;0—;2;8;3
Elkhart;210;152;x—11;12;0
Emily Ramirez (L), Emily Diaz (5); Laci Stimac (W).
Goshen: Hits — Ramirez 2, Julie Branam 2. 2B — Abi Blankenship, Ramirez, Dakota Powers.
Elkhart: Hits — Fionna Topolski 2, Ava Walker 2, Stimac 2, Deneaja Jackson 2. 3B — Walker. 2B — Topolski, Jackson. RBI — Walker 3, Topolski 2. Runs — Jackson 3, Topolski 2, Lili Escobedo 2.
Records: Goshen 5-20, Elkhart 15-8.
PENN 10, NORTHRIDGE 0
Northridge;000;000—0;1;2
Penn;620;002—;10;15;1
Addi Knisley (L); Olivia Signorino (W).
Penn: Hits — Ashlyn Kronewitter 3, Peyton Dwigans 3, Ava Zachary 2, Logan Rumble 2, Shannon Rudge 2. 3B — Ava Zachary. 2B — Dwigans 2, Rumble, Shannon Rudge. RBI — Dwigans 3, Ava Zachary 2. Runs — Ava Zachary 2, Rumble 2, Shannon Rudge 2.
Records: Northridge 14-13, Penn 24-6.
