The Stewart Street bridge
'Joined in Hope' quilt making
Victoria's Secret Fashion
DIVISION I REGIONAL SOFTBALL | LAKOTA EAST 2, GREENVILLE 1
Green Wave offense comes on too late in loss
Friday, May 30, 2008
DAYTON — Just when it seemed the Greenville High School softball team had figured out Hillary Ballinger in the bottom of the seventh inning, it learned otherwise.
The Lakota East pitcher retired the last three batters after the Green Wave had put the potential tying run at second base with nobody out, giving the Thunderhawks a 2-1 victory in the Division I regional semifinals Thursday, May 29, at the University of Dayton Softball Stadium.
Greenville's Kyli Gunckel held Lakota East to two runs Thursday, May 29, but that was all the Thunderhawks needed in a 2-1 win in a Division I regional semifinal at the University of Dayton Softball Stadium. "She kept us offbalance," said Greenville coach Jarrod Newland, whose team finished 25-6 and won a state title in Division II a season ago. "She threw a great game.
"They seemed to attack the ball at the plate better than we did," he added. "That's how the cookie crumbles. They played an 'A' game, we played a 'B' game."
The Green Wave trailed 2-0 when Macie Blinn singled to lead off the bottom of the seventh. She came around to score on Alysaa Comer's long double to left-center field. But Comer was left stranded at second when Ballinger got the next three batters on two short popouts and a groundout.
Lakota East took a 2-0 lead in the fifth on a run-scoring double by Emily Lafferty and an RBI single by Allison Mills.
Lakota East (22-6) is tentatively scheduled to play Mason on Saturday at UD, starting at noon.
But Lakota East coach Steve Castner (who will face his brother, Mason coach Brian Castner), said there is a chance the starting time will be moved to 10 a.m. because the school's graduation starts at 2 p.m. that day.
Greenville, the defending Division I state champion, was limited to five hits by Ballinger, who struck out eight, walked none and retired the first 11 batters she faced.
Still, the Thunderhawks put four runners on base in the first two innings and were unable to get anyone past second. The game remained scoreless until the fifth.
"There were two or three nice plays by their defense which kept us from scoring," Castner said.
