Strasburg moves on to the elite eight; Indian Valley and Tusky Valley ousted
Senior shortstop Emma Gilkerson hit a program record 37th career home run and sophomore lefty Amelia Spidell had a solid outing in the circle as state-ranked Strasburg rolled to a 13-2 win over South Webster in a Division IV regional softball semifinal at Pickerington Central Wednesday night.
The Tigers, ranked No. 2 in the state, improved to 25-4 and will play Portsmouth Notre Dame for a trip to the state tournament Saturday at noon back at Pickerington Central. Notre Dame was a 10-0 winner over Danville in a seven-inning semifinal.
The Lady Jeeps finished their season 18-10.
Gilkerson, a Cleveland State recruit, put the icing on Strasburg's cake with a three-run blast against starting pitcher Rylee McGraw in the top of the seventh to put the Tigers up 13-2 to give her her 37th career dinger in Orange and Black.
Gilkerson broke the mark set by Carly (Clark) Mayle. It was her 37th home run in the three years of her high school career, losing her sophomore year to the pandemic.
Earlier, she hit a single and double and also had four RBIs and scored three runs.
Strasburg scored four times in the top of the first to get off to a great start.
Maggie Richards' RBI double gave a Strasburg a 1-0 lead. Audrey Allensworth added an RBI single to make it 3-0 and JaeLyn Marks made it 4-0 with an RBI single.
South Webster cut its deficit in half as Bri Claxon had a lead-off triple for the Jeeps and scored on a groundout to cut the Tigers lead to 4-1. Ashlee Spence had an RBI single to draw to within 4-2 after one inning of play.
But that was as close the Jeeps would get.
Strasburg took control in the top of the fourth as it tallied six runs.
Spidell got the complete-game win, giving up two runs on two hits with eight strikeouts. She aided her cause with a single, double and scored two runs.
Richards had a single, two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored and Marks added two singles and two RBIs, while Dani Wright chipped in a single and two doubles.
Strasburg will be bidding for its 17th trip to the state tournament Saturday.
The Tigers last appearance was in 2018 (2nd). They also went in 2016 (2nd), 2013 (1st), 2012, 2011 (1st), 2010 (2nd), 2009 (1st), 2004, 2002 (2nd), 1995, 1992, 1991 (1st), 1990, 1989 (1st), 1988 (1st) and 1987 (1st).
Heath 5, Indian Valley 4
Katlyn Jardine’s two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the seventh gave Heath a dramatic 5-4 win over Indian Valley in a Div. II regional semifinal at Pickerington Central.
The Bulldogs (22-5) will play John Glenn for a state berth at noon Saturday.
Indian Valley, who ended up 22-7, took a 4-3 advantage into the bottom of the seventh before the Bulldogs rallied.
Indian Valley took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a blast by Gabby Meade, but Heath countered with a two-run home run by Renae Cunningham to take a 2-1 advantage, it was her 17th of the season.
Indian Valley struck for three runs in the top of the fourth to go up 4-2.
Singles by Meade, Corra Love and Brooklyn Sanders produced one run and tied it at 2-2.
With two outs, Madison Monte blooped a two-run single down the left field line, making it 4-2.Makayla Jardine’s solo homer pulled Heath to within 4-3 heading to fifth.
IV starting pitcher Mia Rose struck out 11 in her six-hitter and Sydney Chapman allowed six hits over five innings with nine punch outs for the Bulldogs.
Wheelersburg 19, Tusky Valley 0
Wheelersburg scored 11 times in the top of the first inning en route to a five-inning win over Tusky in a Div. III regional semifinal at Chillicothe Unioto.
The Lady Pirates defeated the Lady Trojans 13-6 at this same stage last season.
Wheelersburg sent 16 batters to the plate in the opening frame as Sydney Skiver hit a grand slam home run and Catie Boggs added a three-run shot.
The Lady Pirates added three more runs in the second inning and their lead swelled to 14-0 as Haley Myers hit an RBI single and Macee Eaton added a two-run home run by Macee Eaton.
Wheelersburg added two more for a 16-0 lead on an RBI single by Lyndsay Heimbach and RBI sacrifice fly by Boggs.
The Lady Pirates increased its lead to 19-0 in the fourth as Eaton hit a solo shot (her second of the game), an RBI double by Skiver, and an RBI single by Kiera Kennard.
Starting pitcher AndiJo Howard was the beneficiary of the runs as she picked up the win.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Gilkerson hits record HR as Strasburg softball wins Regional semi
