SHELBYVILLE, Mo. — It was a tough start for North Shelby as the Lady Raiders hosted Silex with the Class 1 District 4 tournament championship on the line.
Silex scored three runs in the first inning and North Shelby was never really able to recover as the Lady Owls went on to win the district championship game 5-2 on Tuesday evening at Gene Tuggle Memorial Field.
However, North Shelby ace pitcher Clara Uhlmeyer settled in after being roughed up in the first inning and traded zeroes with Silex ace Rylan Harris until the late innings.
Uhlmeyer pitched a complete game with nine strikeouts, while allowing three walks, 12 hits and five earned runs.
Harris also pitched a complete game with 11 strikeouts to earn the win, allowing one walk, five hits and two earned runs.
Rylen Jensen drew a leadoff walk for Silex to start the game, which was followed by a single by Morgan Kuntz and an RBI double by Kherington Morris. Austyn Van Horn drove in Kuntz and Julia Grote doubled home Morris to give the Lady Owls a 3-0 lead before North Shelby even batted.
North Shelby did not put anything together offensively, until Sadie Gander got a leadoff single in the sixth inning and Uhlmeyer followed that up with a two-run home run to bring the Lady Raiders within one run of Silex.
However, Silex scored a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning after Claire Schwendemann hit a two-RBI single to score Van Horn and Olivia Wotring.
Gander went 2-for-2 with a walk and a run, while Uhlmeyer went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. Lauryn Thrasher had the other hit for North Shelby.
Prior to the Class 1 District 4 tournament champion game, North Shelby defeated Scotland County 11-1 in the opener and Clopton 3-0 in the semifinal game.
North Shelby finishes the 2025 season with a 18-5 record and will graduate Emma Christine, Harper Copenhaver, Alyssa Flores, Isabell Jones, Aubrey Luckett and Adrien Wiley.
Silex (21-11) will face St. Elizabeth (25-7) in the Class 1 state quarterfinal on Saturday.