May 27, 2017 at 4:23 a.m.
Dellinger delivers
Starfires play in final at 10 a.m. today
Dellinger delivers
Copyright 2017, The Commercial Review
All Rights Reserved
MONROE — When the South Adams and Adams Central softball teams met May 11, the former failed to score after getting the bases loaded with no outs in the first inning. The Starfires went on to suffer their first loss of the season, 2-0.
So as the squads prepared to meet again in the sectional, SAHS coach Jessie O’Dell was focused on getting on the board first.
His team put two runners on base in the top of the second inning, but failed to push a run across the plate.
They had two more on in the third inning, only to have Adams Central left fielder Ravyn Sweat steal a run-scoring hit from Cassie Evans with a spectacular diving catch to start a double play.
Finally, with two outs in the fourth inning, Lexi Dellinger delivered.
The junior sent a shot to left field, just out of the reach of Sweat’s outstretched glove, for a two-run double that gave the Class 2A No. 3 Starfires the lead they were seeking. They parlayed that 2-0 advantage into a 3-1 victory Friday over host Adams Central in the semifinal round of the Sectional 36 tournament.
“I told them ahead of time, ‘We’re going to do whatever we can to manufacture the first run. After that, then we can swing away,’” said O’Dell. “When you have Katelin Augsburger on the mound, you just need a lead. That’s how I feel. …
“Getting that lead was a big deal.”
The Starfires advance to the sectional championship game at 10 a.m. today against the Churubusco Eagles (15-14), who topped Woodlan 5-1 Friday’s first semifinal game.
Both South Adams and Adams Central had baserunners in two of the first three innings Friday night, but neither was able to deliver until the fourth.
SAHS (21-3) had two outs in the top of the inning when Augsburger, its star pitcher, helped herself out with a single to center field. Kayla LeFever followed with a single to right that sent Augsburger all the way to third base, and then a stolen base by LeFever set the table for Dellinger.
Her double, on which Sweat narrowly missed coming up with another tremendous defensive play, brought Augsburger and LeFever to the plate and sent the Starfire dugout into an uproar.
“That’s clutch,” O’Dell said. “We didn’t get that last time. Last time we left runners on base. This time were able to get those two-out hits.”
A Destiny McCroskey double and an error allowed Adams Central to get a run back in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the home team failed to score again despite getting a leadoff double in the sixth inning and three runners on base in the seventh.
Adams Central coach Cary Blake, whose team finished at 15-8, said he figured his team would need four runs to beat the Starfires.
“We preached that all week, and it didn’t happen,” he said. “We had opportunities, but we didn’t do it. Softball is a game of opportunities. They took advantage of their opportunities. We did not.”
South Adams tacked on its other run in the sixth inning, again with the middle of the order doing the damage with two outs.
Augsburger first legged out an infield single and then took second base on a passed ball. LeFever followed with a looper that caught the chalk on the left field line, and Augsburger beat a throw to the plate for a 3-1 lead.
Augsburger, LeFever and Dellinger, the No. 5, 6 and 7 hitters, combined to record six of the Starfires’ eight hits along with all three runs and all three RBIs.
“They have some speed too. If we’re not hitting the ball very well, they can get a bunt down,” said O’Dell, noting Dellinger’s bunt single in the second inning in addition to Augsburger’s infield single. “I think that’s crucial.”
Augsburger, who took the loss two weeks ago when the then top-ranked Starfires saw their 16-game winning streak come to an end against Adams Central, gave up just four hits and a walk in earning the victory Friday. She struck out five, and the only run against her was unearned.
When a hit and an error left her with two runners on and one out in the final inning, O’Dell considered heading out to the circle for a chat. Then, he thought better of it.
“She threw that one in a great spot … and I thought, ‘You know what, let’s let the senior be the senior,’” he said of the hurler who led the team to the semi-state last season. “She’s got us this far. … She’s a good pitcher. She’s a competitor. … She did a great job there.”
All Rights Reserved
MONROE — When the South Adams and Adams Central softball teams met May 11, the former failed to score after getting the bases loaded with no outs in the first inning. The Starfires went on to suffer their first loss of the season, 2-0.
So as the squads prepared to meet again in the sectional, SAHS coach Jessie O’Dell was focused on getting on the board first.
His team put two runners on base in the top of the second inning, but failed to push a run across the plate.
They had two more on in the third inning, only to have Adams Central left fielder Ravyn Sweat steal a run-scoring hit from Cassie Evans with a spectacular diving catch to start a double play.
Finally, with two outs in the fourth inning, Lexi Dellinger delivered.
The junior sent a shot to left field, just out of the reach of Sweat’s outstretched glove, for a two-run double that gave the Class 2A No. 3 Starfires the lead they were seeking. They parlayed that 2-0 advantage into a 3-1 victory Friday over host Adams Central in the semifinal round of the Sectional 36 tournament.
“I told them ahead of time, ‘We’re going to do whatever we can to manufacture the first run. After that, then we can swing away,’” said O’Dell. “When you have Katelin Augsburger on the mound, you just need a lead. That’s how I feel. …
“Getting that lead was a big deal.”
The Starfires advance to the sectional championship game at 10 a.m. today against the Churubusco Eagles (15-14), who topped Woodlan 5-1 Friday’s first semifinal game.
Both South Adams and Adams Central had baserunners in two of the first three innings Friday night, but neither was able to deliver until the fourth.
SAHS (21-3) had two outs in the top of the inning when Augsburger, its star pitcher, helped herself out with a single to center field. Kayla LeFever followed with a single to right that sent Augsburger all the way to third base, and then a stolen base by LeFever set the table for Dellinger.
Her double, on which Sweat narrowly missed coming up with another tremendous defensive play, brought Augsburger and LeFever to the plate and sent the Starfire dugout into an uproar.
“That’s clutch,” O’Dell said. “We didn’t get that last time. Last time we left runners on base. This time were able to get those two-out hits.”
A Destiny McCroskey double and an error allowed Adams Central to get a run back in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the home team failed to score again despite getting a leadoff double in the sixth inning and three runners on base in the seventh.
Adams Central coach Cary Blake, whose team finished at 15-8, said he figured his team would need four runs to beat the Starfires.
“We preached that all week, and it didn’t happen,” he said. “We had opportunities, but we didn’t do it. Softball is a game of opportunities. They took advantage of their opportunities. We did not.”
South Adams tacked on its other run in the sixth inning, again with the middle of the order doing the damage with two outs.
Augsburger first legged out an infield single and then took second base on a passed ball. LeFever followed with a looper that caught the chalk on the left field line, and Augsburger beat a throw to the plate for a 3-1 lead.
Augsburger, LeFever and Dellinger, the No. 5, 6 and 7 hitters, combined to record six of the Starfires’ eight hits along with all three runs and all three RBIs.
“They have some speed too. If we’re not hitting the ball very well, they can get a bunt down,” said O’Dell, noting Dellinger’s bunt single in the second inning in addition to Augsburger’s infield single. “I think that’s crucial.”
Augsburger, who took the loss two weeks ago when the then top-ranked Starfires saw their 16-game winning streak come to an end against Adams Central, gave up just four hits and a walk in earning the victory Friday. She struck out five, and the only run against her was unearned.
When a hit and an error left her with two runners on and one out in the final inning, O’Dell considered heading out to the circle for a chat. Then, he thought better of it.
“She threw that one in a great spot … and I thought, ‘You know what, let’s let the senior be the senior,’” he said of the hurler who led the team to the semi-state last season. “She’s got us this far. … She’s a good pitcher. She’s a competitor. … She did a great job there.”
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