OHSAA softball: Walk-off homer lifts Lancaster over Gahanna in Division I regional semi
CENTERBURG — Considering she struck out in her first at-bat on a riseball, Reese Poston was expecting to see the same pitch when she came to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning of the Lancaster softball team’s Division I regional semifinal against Gahanna Lincoln.
Poston isn’t positive of what pitch the Lions’ Ella Esterby threw, but the sophomore No. 5 hitter smashed it over the fence in left-center field to give the Golden Gales a 1-0 victory May 25.
Lancaster moved within one win of its first state tournament berth, setting up a matchup with Watkins Memorial in the regional final at 5 p.m. May 27 at Centerburg.
“I love the low pitches,” Poston said. “(Esterby) hung one and I took advantage of it.”
The Gales improved to 25-1 while Gahanna finished 28-3.
Lancaster’s best opportunity to score before the seventh came in the third when Zhari Hill walked and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Skylar Smith then singled to center, but Hill was thrown out at the plate by Juju Morris for the third out.
Poston also excelled in the circle, pitching out of trouble in the final two innings to finish off a complete game.
In the sixth, Gahanna’s Lola Campbell pinch hit for Mattie Bailey and walked on four pitches to begin the inning. Bailey reentered and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and to third on a groundout before Poston induced a pop out to end the threat.
Esterby opened the seventh with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, but Poston got Sarah Carr and Grace Miller to fly out.
Esterby struck out eight.
“Both teams played great,” Lions coach Matt Bailey said. “We played great defense. Ella pitched great. (Catcher) Nicole (Waters) called a great game. It definitely hurts to go out like this.”
julrey@thisweeknews.com
@UlreyThisWeek
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Walk-off homer lifts Lancaster over Gahanna in regional semi
