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Prep softball, baseball roundup: Luther the hero for New Prairie softball Thursday

austin hough, south bend tribune
·3 min read

New Prairie softball’s quest to repeat as Class 3A state champions almost ended prematurely Thursday.

The Cougars found themselves in a battle with Jimtown in the Sectional 19 final, trailing by one run late. Fortunately for New Prairie, senior Emma Luther picked a great time to hit her fourth home run of the season, uncorking one over the centerfield fence to lift her team to a 5-4 victory at Newton Park in Lakeville.

From Tuesday: Clay softball bids adieu, while New Prairie starts Class 3A state title defense

No. 3 (3A) New Prairie (20-6) scored the first three runs of the game before Jimtown (19-8) countered with four unanswered to take the lead. It looked like Jimmies senior Alexa Alvey was going to be the hero of the game with an RBI single in the top of the sixth, but Luther spoiled those plans.

Randi Robakowski went 3-for-4 at the plate in the leadoff spot for New Prairie. Ella Chelminiak and Makayla Willoughby also had RBI hits for the Cougars. Junior Ava Geyer struck out 17 batters in the complete game effort.

New Prairie will travel to the winner of the Sectional 20 final between Rensselaer Central and Kankakee Valley this Tuesday, May 28 in a one-game regional championship.

Other area softball scores

  • Class 3A, Sectional 21 final: East Noble 2, NorthWood 0

  • Class 2A, Sectional 34 semifinal: Wheeler 6, Bremen 2

  • Class 1A, Sectional 50 semifinal: Culver Community 10, Argos 4

Baseball sectional action continues

Two upsets happened in the quarterfinals of Class 4A, Sectional 4 at Penn Thursday, with Goshen (12-13) knocking off Elkhart (14-11), 7-2, and Northridge (13-14) upending the Northern Lakes Conference champion Warsaw (21-7) by a 7-0 score.

More: When and where are the IHSAA spring sport state championship contests?

JT Tabor was the catalyst for Northridge, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out six batters in six innings pitched. The top five hitters in the Raiders lineup each drove in at least one run.

Goshen was down 2-1 early before scoring the final six runs of the game, four of which came in the third inning. Kyan Miller pitched 6 2/3rd innings and also had two RBI at the plate for the RedHawks.

In Class 3A, Sectional 18, New Prairie (22-5) demolished Culver Academies, 21-2, to advance to the championship game. The Cougars had 18 hits, led by Tyson Greenwood’s three. New Prairie will play Knox for the title, who won Thursday’s first semifinal by a 9-4 score over Tippecanoe Valley. The game will be played at 11 a.m. Monday at Newton Park in Lakeville.

In the two Class 1A sectionals that featured local teams, Argos lost to Culver Community, 4-2, in Sectional 50, and Bethany Christian suffered a 7-4 defeat at the hand of Fort Wayne Canterbury in Sectional 51.

Full softball and baseball tournament brackets can be found online at ihsaa.org under each sport's respective tab on the website.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Prep softball, baseball roundup: Luther the hero for New Prairie softball Thursday