To win a Sectional you must first advance to the Championship game. Last Tuesday, the Northeastern Lady Knights softball team did just that. The Lady Knights defeated rival Centerville to move to the Championship game, where they face state-ranked Union County.
Clare Lopeman helped lift her team past the Lady Bulldogs with a complete game pitching performance, allowing six hits and striking out nine.
The Lady Knights broke up a scoreless tie with three runs in the bottom of the third inning. Emma Neely drew a walk, Lexi Russell singled, and Lopeman followed with a triple to bring Neely and Russell home. A deep sacrifice fly from Lilly Null plated Lopeman to give the Lady Knights a 3-0 lead.
Neither team scored again until the fifth inning. Centerville scored a single run in the top of the inning and Northeastern answered with three runs in the bottom.
Centerville added a single run in the top of the sixth inning. Northeastern answered with a single run, bottom of the seventh, to capture a 7-2 win.
The Lady Bulldogs collected six hits. Anna Davis and Drew Tubesing each had two.
The Lady Knights had eight hits. Lopeman, Kamryn McFarland, and Sage Sanders had two each.
Knights’ Coach Todd Wilson has a plan for his team against the powerful Lady Patriots in the upcoming title game. “It will take a lot of discipline to beat Union County” Wilson said. “We will have to stay disciplined at the plate and make their pitcher throw strikes. We played them in the Championship game last year and the score was 3-0. If we stay disciplined, and play good defense, I think we can play with them.”
Centerville (4-13)
0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2
Northeastern (16-7)
0 0 3 0 3 0 1 7
Centerville Hits: Davis (2), Harmony Owens, Hayley Parker, Tubesing (2)
Northeastern Hits: Lopeman (2), McFarland (2), Russell, Sage Sanders (2), Baylee Wissler