Roundup: West M fends off West Holmes for sectional title
FALLS TOWNSHIP — Sixth seed West Muskingum used a strong opening inning and big swings from Lydiah Huey and Katlynn Foster to fend off 14th seed West Holmes 8-6 in Wednesday's Division II sectional final.
The Tornadoes (16-5) secured their first sectional title since 1980 and advanced to play third seed Dover, a 16-0 winner over Maysville, in Monday's district semifinal at 5 p.m. The site will be determined.
West M coach Josh Bobo expected a challenge from the Knights, who had won five straight. He also applauded his team for battling through the adversity.
"They weren't the typical double digit seed, and we didn't play our best game. We're fortunate to move on," Bobo said. "Lydiah, Kate and Zoie (Settles) had some big games, and we had enough hits sprinkled throughout the lineup to get the job done."
It was a promising start, as seven of the first eight Tornadoes reached in the first inning to build a 4-0 lead. Huey's RBI single to bring in pinch runner Braelynn Murrey started the scoring. Gracie Settles and Kadie Bare drew bases-loaded walks and Zoie Settles singled home a run.
Both teams scored in the third with Peyton Brown's sac fly scoring Zoie Settles for a 5-1 West lead then Huey swatted a two-run homer with two outs in the fourth to make it 7-1.
West Holmes' patience paid off in the fifth with three straight bases-loaded walks to cut the deficit to 7-4. Bare then stepped in for starter Cadence Puckett and induced a fielder's choice and a groundout to escape the jam.
The Knights plated two on a single and an error in the top of the sixth, but Foster answered with a moonshot over the left-field fence in the home half to make it 8-6.
"Kadie and Cadence really compliment each other," Bobo said. "Kadie was pretty clutch for us. She did her job in a tough spot."
Foster finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored, Huey added two hits, three RBIs and two runs scored, and Zoie Settles had a pair of hits to lead the offense.
Puckett earned the win despite walking eight in 4 1/3 innings. She allowed four runs on four hits with four strikeouts while Bare gave up three hits and fanned one in 2 2/3 innings for the save.
Morgan 10, River View 0 (5 inn.): The eighth-seeded Raiders took advantage of seven errors, and winning pitcher Malayni Clemens fanned 12 and walked one in a three-hitter in the Division II sectional final.
Morgan scored four of its five runs in the second on errors, Paige Lanning singled home a run and Lilly Gorrell added a two-run single in the third to make it 8-0, and Blair Clawson capped the mercy with a RBI double in the fifth.
Gorrell finished with three RBIs, Lanning scored twice, Remi Keirns came home three times and Maya Augenstein doubled in the victory.
Taylor Meade suffered the loss, allowing eight runs, three earned, on five hits in 2 1/3 innings, while Raelee McPeak had two hits and Abby Lorenz singled for the River View offense.
Sheridan 11, Gallia Academy 3: The fifth-seeded Generals plated five runs over the first two innings in claiming a sectional final.
Cora Hall had a RBI single in a two-run first and Addison Grosse and Avery Mueller singled home runs in a three-run second for a 5-0 lead.
After the Blue Angels hit a 3-run homer in the fifth, Payton Powell singled home a run in a two-run fifth, and Mueller and Hayley Clifton had run-scoring hits and Hall tripled home a run in a four-run sixth for the winners.
Hall struck out 10, walked one and allowed three runs on eight hits in a complete game. She also went 3-for-3 at the plate with a pair of RBIs, while Mueller, Grosse and Clifton had two hits apiece for Sheridan, which faces fourth seed Circleville in Monday's district semifinal at Ohio University.
Indian Valley 13, Philo 3: The ninth-seeded Electrics led 3-1 after the top of the third, but the top-seeded Braves stormed back for a six-inning mercy in the sectional final.
Bri Wolfe hit a solo home run and Addie Shearer had a single with two RBIs as Philo had six of its eight hits in the first three innings.
Brooklyn Ferrell and Caitlin Rose also had two hits each in the loss.
Fairland 4, New Lex 0: Kylie Fink had two hits and Abby Wilson added a single for the 11th-seeded Panthers, who were three-hit by the sixth-seeded Dragons in a sectional final.
Wilson allowed four runs, all unearned, on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks in a complete game loss.
Dover 16, Maysville 0: The third-seeded Tornadoes rolled past the 16th-seeded Panthers in a sectional final.
Ayven Johnson's two-out triple in the third was Maysville's only hit, while Taylor Freeland was the losing pitcher, allowing five runs on seven hits in one inning.
Baseball
Rosecrans 9, West Muskingum 8: Malakai Clark and Weston Hartman had two hits and two RBIs each to lead the Bishops to the win.
Nick Bernath also singled and knocked in two runs for Rosecrans, while Camden Fowler and Kace Bowen had a single and two RBIs and Jake Anton doubled with a RBI to lead West.
Sheridan 15, Westfall 10: Caden Sheridan went 3-for-5 with a home run, four RBIs and four runs scored to pace the Generals in a high-scoring affair.
AJ Winders knocked in three runs, Spencer Showalter added two hits and three runs scored and Reid Packer, Ryan Kuhn and Austin Clifton had two hits apiece for Sheridan. Bryson Ruff tossed three scoreless innings for the victory.
Northridge 5, Zanesville 4: Tyson Kimble and Mahki Murray had two hits apiece, but the Blue Devils' late rally fell short.
The Vikings scored four in the top of the seventh to take a 5-2 lead before Zanesville scored twice in the home half.
Heath 6, New Lex 4: Tatem Toth hit a pair of doubles and a single and Issac McGill added a single and two RBIs, but the Bulldogs scored five runs over the final two innings to rally for the win.
McGill allowed one run on two hits with four strikeouts and two walks in three innings as the starter, while Toth was handed the loss in relief.
Meadowbrook 6, John Glenn 2: Easton Eibel hit three singles and Braden Jones added two hits and two RBIs to lead the Colts to a Muskingum Valley League win.
Kolton St. Clair and Evan Dyer also had two hits apiece and Jacob Justice gave up two runs on six hits and fanned four in four innings to earn the victory.
Wylee Woodard had a double and two singles, Colt Emerson hit a pair of doubles and Aydan Thompson had a pair of hits to lead the Muskies. Noah Winland went the distance in the loss, surrendering six runs on 12 hits, fanning six and walking two.
Crooksville 7, Maysville 3: Brady Cottrell doubled, singled, scored twice and knocked in a run and Trinton Cottrell added a single and a RBI to lead the Ceramics past the Panthers.
Bo White was the winning pitcher, allowing three runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks in six innings.
Kamyn Walker collected three hits and two RBIs, Cole Roberts and Coen Fink had two hits each and Fink allowed four runs on two hits in 1 1/3 innings to suffer the loss for the Panthers.
This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Roundup: West M fends off West Holmes for sectional title
