St. Paul, South Central fall in close sectional title games

NORWALK — The end was a microcosm of six-plus weeks. The St. Paul softball team trailed 11-5 entering the bottom of the sixth inning of Thursday's Division IV sectional championship game vs. Lucas at Norwalk Area Contractors Park. But with one out in the bottom of the seventh, the Flyers had trimmed that deficit to 11-10 and had the tying run on second base and brought the winning run to the plate. However, the Cubs' Gabrielle Smith recovered and recorded two quick outs to end the game, and St. Paul's season. The Flyers finished the season with a 12-15 record, while the No. 5-seeded Cubs (9-13) advanced to face No. 2 Mohawk (18-6) in a district semifinal at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Shelby High School. Much like Thursday's back-and-forth game, St. Paul has been a streaky up and down team all season. "The girls have worked hard. This team has matured to where we have been down before and we've come back," St. Paul coach Bob Wilhelm said. "Some we've won, some we haven't. But they are starting to believe in themselves and each other a little more — which I think will help us next year. "We lose four seniors, tough shoes to fill, as all are four-year letterwinners," Wilhelm said of Marlaina Sowers, Morgan Baxter, Sammy Lippert and Mara Lesch. "We'll go back to the drawing board and work extra hard this winter and get some girls ready to fill those spots." In Thursday's loss, sophomore Josalyn Vazquez finished 4 for 5, which included a two-run single in the bottom of the seventh that brought the Flyers back within a run. Junior Presley Stang was 2 for 4 with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored, while Lesch was 2 for 3, and junior Ava Caizzo and sophomore Klaire Hickey each finished 2 for 4 and scored a run. Baxter singled and drove in two runs, and sophomore Elena Penner added a single, with Lippert contributing an RBI. In the circle, Amelia Rospert returned from injury to pitch all seven innings. She allowed nine earned runs on 14 hits with six strikeouts and one walk. For Lucas, Smith was 3 for 4 with a double, and Marissa Caughtery was 2 for 4 with a double and four RBIs. Isabel Alt and Alexa Falk each had two hits and two RBIs, while Tori Sauder had two hits and an RBI and Kali Nolen added two hits. "I felt like in order for us to win in the tournament, we had to score in every inning," Wilhelm said. "We did that in five of the seven innings tonight. I thought Amelia pitched well enough to win after missing three weeks, but errors will cost you games just like walks will cost you games." St. Paul opened the season 2-1, then stumbled to 2-10 after nine consecutive losses. The Flyers then responded with seven straight wins and 10 of their next 12 to get back to .500 before dropping two one-run games to Plymouth (7-6) and Lucas this week. They had three one-run losses in finishing three games below .500. "The grind at the beginning, we had a tough schedule early," Wilhelm said. "We've had girls injured, and we're still missing two starters. But that aside, we just went through that grind after our first three games, then playing all those tougher teams hurt us. "I think the girls lost some morale and intensity and the spark that they had," he added. "But once they got it back, they were just on fire and we hit the ball really well. But I'm proud of the way they have handled themselves. They were up and down, but it's the way the ball bounces … they hung in there and put themselves in position to have opportunities to win like today." Lucas 032 204 0 — 11 14 3 St. Paul 210 202 3 — 10 14 2 WP: Smith LP: Rospert 2B: (L) Caugherty, Smith, Alt, Fulk, Sauder; (SP) Stang Mohawk 6, South Central 2 SYCAMORE — The Trojans scored twice in the fifth inning on an RBI double from Kailee Beaver to tie No. 2-seed Mohawk, but the Warriors scored twice in their home half and two more times in the sixth for a 6-2 win on Thursday in a sectional title game. With the loss, South Central fell to 8-15 overall. The Warriors (18-6) advanced to Tuesday's 6 p.m. district semifinal vs. No. 5 Lucas at Shelby High School. Olivia Hudson was 2 for 3, and Annie Cook, Liz Music and Maddy Prater each added singles for South Central. In the circle, Prater went six innings and allowed six runs (two earned) on eight hits. She struck out 12 and walked three. S. Central 000 020 0 — 2 6 4 Mohawk 002 022 x — 6 8 0 WP: Sheets; LP: Prater 2B: (SC) Beaver; (M) Harper 2, Clouse, Phillips