Lincoln wins county softball championship

The Lincoln softball team has low roster numbers, but the players they do have possess substantial talent and the hearts of champions. Last Saturday, the Lady Eagles rolled over Hagerstown 12-3 in their first-round game, and then hooked up with Northeastern for the title. The Lady Knights joined the Lady Eagles in the title game after eliminating Centerville in a thrilling hard fought first-round matchup that went to the wire before Northeastern pulled out a 7-6 win. The championship game was high scoring. The Lady Knights scored 7 runs in their first at bat, but the Lady Eagles were not deterred. They fought back to win by the score of 13-12 and carry the championship trophy back to Cambridge City.

Game 1, Northeastern 7, Centerville 6

The game between Centerville and Northeastern was a thriller that went to the wire. The Lady Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead in the first inning and never trailed until the Lady Knights scored in the seventh inning to take a walk-off win. The Bulldogs were still leading 6-4 before the Lady Knights mounted a comeback to tie the game at 6-6 entering the seventh and final inning.  There was no shortage of heroes on either team but none bigger than Nevaeh Chapman who provided seventh inning heroics with the game winning hit that propelled the Lady Knights to the title game.

Game 2, Lincoln 12, Hagerstown 3

The Lady Eagles made certain that there would not be a repeat champion by bouncing the defending champion Lady Tigers in convincing fashion. The Lady Eagles never trailed. They scored three runs in the first inning and expanded their advantage to 7-0 after three innings. The team traded single runs in the fifth inning and the Lady Tigers scored two more runs in the top of the sixth inning to cut their deficit to 8-3. The Lady Eagles delivered the knockout punch in the bottom of the sixth inning when Addy Pitcock hit a grand slam home run. Paige Lunsford was overpowering from the circle striking out 10 in complete game performance.  

Championship Game, Lincoln 13, Northeastern 12

The matchup between Lincoln and Northeastern was truly a championship battle. Both teams played their hearts out in a game that was an emotional roller coaster. Northeastern served notice that they wanted to be called champions by lighting up the scoreboard for seven run in their first time at bat. The Lady Eagles fought back to tie the game at 9-9 after four innings. The Lady Knights broke the tie with a single run in the fifth inning. Lincoln responded with 4 runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 13-10 advantage. It turned out to be just enough. Northeastern scored single runs in the six and seventh innings allowing the Lady Eagles to hang on for a 13-12 win. Lexi McPheeters was the winning pitcher in relief. Lexi Russell and Addisyn Wright each collected three hits for the Lady Knights. Wright drove in four runs.  Mallory Burns collected three hits for Lincoln and drove in four runs.