Terre Haute North pitcher Kyleigh Walker had flirted with a no-hitter Monday in sectional softball.
On Tuesday, against an aggressive Terre Haute South team, she gave up three hits before recording an out but had the same result, an 18-8 win that sends the Patriots into Wednesday night’s sectional final in the Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional.
North plays Martinsville, an 8-1 winner over Bloomington North in Tuesday’s earlier game, at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Playing as the visiting team, even using the visitors’ dugout, the Braves came out with guns blazing.
Samarra Newburn hit the third pitch of the game to the right-field fence for a triple, Marcia Parker hit a rocket up the middle for an RBI single and Lakyn Hadley, after a stolen base by Parker, singled to put the Braves ahead 2-0.
North hasn’t been an easy team to discourage this week and responded with four runs, Kenzie Zigler starting her huge night with a double off the right-field fence and other runs scoring on wild pitches (twice) and an error.
South came right back with three runs, scoring one on a two-out single by Hadley and two on a hit by Emma Cesinger.
North had two outs (but two runners on) without scoring in the bottom of the inning, but then Zigler lofted a homer over the center-field fence. Now the Patriots led 7-5.
Each team had a scoreless inning in the third — which wouldn’t happen again — but Cesinger hit a two-run homer in the top of the fourth to tie the game at 7-7.
Every time South scored on Tuesday, however, the Patriots responded. This time four runs scored on five hits, including a bunt single by Zigler that could almost have been counted as a double when she advanced to an uncovered second base as three fielders went after her bunt.
That put North ahead 11-7, and Walker pitched a perfect fifth inning. Her teammates responded by scoring five runs — Zigler’s hit this time was her second homer of the game, a bomb to right-center — but failed to get a 10-run victory when a line drive was caught with two out and two runners in scoring position.
South tallied in the sixth, when Newburn singled, stole two bases and scored on a sacrifice fly by Hadley, but the Patriots put the game away with two in the bottom of the inning on a wild pitch and an RBI single by Morgan Hoggatt that scored Zigler.
The sophomore shortstop had reached on an error this time, so she finished her night by going 4 for 5 with five runs and seven RBI.
Also for the 24-6 Patriots, Addy Millington was 3 for 4; Madi Strange 2 for 4 with a double, triple and three runs; Walker 2 for 2 with two runs; Kara Salmon 2 for 4 with three runs; Hoggatt 2 for 5 with a double; and Cora Deveau 1 for 3 with three RBI.
Hadley was 3 for 3 for South with three RBI and two runs. Cesinger was 2 for 4, driving in four, and Newburn 2 for 4 with three runs.
If there was a difference in the game, it was the defensive plays the Patriots made. Right fielder Kylie Lloyd had four putouts, three of them on outstanding plays and one of those ended the second inning and saved at least a run, while Strange robbed South’s Carly Ross of an extra-base hit and second baseman Kya Gardner took a hit away from Roxie Greene.
South finished a deceiving 5-18 season and will lose just one senior, Carley Werremeyer (sacrifice bunt, single, robbed by Lloyd in her three at-bats). Martinsville brings a 14-16 record into the championship game, while Bloomington North finished 5-16.