PREP SOFTBALL: Concord, Northridge cruise to Sectional 4 semifinal wins
May 28—The Northern Lakes Conference is guaranteed to have at least one softball sectional champion after Concord and Northridge won their respective Class 4A, Sectional 4 semifinal games Friday.
Concord beat the host Warsaw Tigers, 18-2, while Northridge was a 10-0 winner over Elkhart in games that only needed five innings to be completed.
The championship game will be played Saturday at 11 a.m. back at Warsaw High School. The winner will then host a one-game regional contest this Tuesday, May 31.
This will be the third time the Minutemen (15-12) and Raiders (19-9) have played each other this season. Northridge won both previous encounters, beating Concord 3-0 on April 22 and 8-3 on May 9.
CONCORD 18, WARSAW 2 (5 innings)
The Minutemen started strong and never looked back, scoring the first 11 runs of the contest to pull away from the Tigers.
Concord scored three runs in the top of the first inning. The first came off an RBI single from senior Lynnsey Delio, the second on a wild pitch and the final one off an RBI groundout from junior Kareena Ulfig.
The bats really exploded for the Minutemen in the second inning, as they plated seven runs in the frame. The highlight of the inning came when freshman Cassi Reames belted a three-run homer run over the center field wall, making it an 8-0 contest at the time.
Concord then scored one run in each the third and fourth innings before a six-run fifth inning shut the door on the Tigers for good.
This would be plenty of run support for Delio, who pitched all five innings in the win for Concord. She finished the contest allowing just one earned run while striking out nine Warsaw batters along the way.
The Minutemen finished with 19 hits in the game, which included four from freshman Evy Pitt and three each from Delio, Reames and Kailee Beachy. Ulfig led the way with four RBIs, while Delio and Reames drove in three each as well.
NORTHRIDGE 10, ELKHART 0 (5 innings)
Much like the Minutemen, Northridge controlled its game against the Lions from the start.
The Raiders were able to score four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Grace Lueking scored the first one off an Elkhart error, while Ava Gilbert scored on the next pitch courtesy an RBI groundout from Jenna Bible. Northridge then doubled their lead on a two-RBI single from Grace Urbanski, bringing in Cydel Miller and Meredith Frey.
The home team in the game would then score one run in each the second, third and fourth innings. Lueking added to her team's lead in the second with an RBI groundout of her own, scoring Rielyn Goodwin to make it 5-0 Northridge through two innings of play.
Miller scored on a passed ball in the third to make it 6-0 at the time. The seventh run came on an RBI single from Bible.
Northridge then plated three runs in the bottom of the fifth to end the game. Miller scored the eighth run when she successfully stole home plate. Frey then scored on a fielder's choice ground ball from Jayln Weatherholt. Finally, Urbanski brought home Weatherholt when she reached on a fielding error from Elkhart.
The Raiders finished the game with only six hits, but capitalized on six walks yielded by Lions pitchers and four fielding errors from their opponents as well.
Senior Abby Hostetler was dominant in the circle once again for the Raiders, allowing just two hits while striking out 11 batters. In 12 innings of sectional play so far, Hostetler has 23 strikeouts and only those two hits allowed.
Austin Hough can be reached at austin.hough@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2360. Follow him on Twitter at @AustinHoughTGN.