New London rolls into district final with shutout win over South Central
GALION − For the third time this season, New London (17-6) defeated Firelands Conference foe South Central (12-13) with a 10-0 shutout victory in their Division IV district semifinal.
As New London first baseman Gracie Thomas best said, "We were on today."
Yeah, they were.
More: A little get back! Hillsdale, Dalton hold off Keystone in district semifinal win
Thomas started things with a two-run double in the first inning, and it flowed from there. Catcher Madison Rowland has been on a tear lately and she stayed hot, as she crushed a two-run home run in the second inning, and her sister Emilee Rowland, followed right after her with a solo shot of her own. Centerfielder Raeann Mitchell drove in two runs for the game.
The top of New London's lineup caused all sorts of problems for South Central, and they pointed to being familiar with the Trojans starter Krystin Hamons (faced her for the third time this season) as playing a key part.
"Just knowing the pitcher and always being ready," said New London's Gracie Thomas. "We hit a lot before all the games, and we stayed really focused."
"We know they have a good pitcher, and she was gonna try to keep us off balance," said New London head coach Joe Thomas. "I thought we did a good job being aggressive at the plate. We came out the first inning, Gracie got a hit and we hit a couple of home runs. Emilee, Madison and Gracie have the ability to put it over the fence anytime."
Emilee, the Wildcats ace, struck out eight batters to earn her third win against the Trojans this season.
"We were 1-2 against her last year, and we went 0-3 against her this year," said South Central head coach Chad Fortune. "Her fastball was good. She hit her spots and had an effective change-up."
Besides New London's hot bats, throughout the game Coach Thomas was constantly preaching the importance of baserunning and giving directions whenever one of his players got on base.
"I take a lot of pride in baserunning and knowing what we are doing on the bases," said Coach Thomas.
"I think our baserunning was really good today," said Emilee Rowland.
"We work on baserunning. Taking the infield and having everyone run," Gracie said. "Making sure we always have people running and rotating and knowing the situation."
That emphasis on baserunning could come in handy in the district final against another league opponent in Monroeville on Thursday. Both teams split their two meetings in the regular season.
"They know us. They're gonna pitch us like they always have," Coach Thomas said. "You play everybody twice but you don't always play a team three times."
jsimpson@gannett.com
Twitter/X:@JamesSimpsonII
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: New London rolls past South Central in district semifinal win
