After rain and severe storms on Tuesday and Wednesday forced multiple local playoff softball games into suspension, area teams finally returned to the field Thursday to finish what they started. Indian Lake completed its comeback effort to advance to the District Final, while West Liberty-Salem saw its postseason run come to an end against top-seeded Tri-Village after nearly 48 hours separated the two halves of both district semifinal matchups.
OHSAA District Semifinals
Indian Lake 9, Brookville 7
The Indian Lake Lady Lakers waited nearly 48 hours to record the final three outs, but eventually finished off Brookville 9-7 to punch their ticket to the District Final.
Indian Lake wasted no time getting the offense going in the first. MacKenzie Miller singled on a high fly ball to center and stole second before Kyler Carruthers was hit by a pitch with two outs. Annie Rapp then stepped up and crushed a three-run homer to right field on the first pitch she saw, quickly giving the Lakers a 3-0 lead.
Brookville answered with a run in the bottom of the first on a one-out RBI double and added another in the second after a hit batter stole second, advanced on a passed ball, and later scored following a catcher error to trim the deficit to 3-2.
The Lakers added a run back in the third when Izzi Mackesy drove home Miller on a one-out infield single, but Brookville surged ahead in the bottom half. The Blue Devils tied the game after an error at shortstop allowed a run to score, another run crossed before the next pitch on a defensive miscue, and a two-out RBI single gave Brookville a 5-4 lead after three innings.
Indian Lake immediately responded in the fourth with two-out offense of its own. With the bases loaded, Bre Wisener reached on an infield single that allowed Brylee Buyer to score, and Mackesy followed on the very next pitch with a hard ground ball through the left side to plate two more runs and put the Lakers back ahead 7-5.
Wisener settled in after the rocky start, tossing two straight scoreless innings while recording her sixth, seventh, and eighth strikeouts during that stretch. She also stranded two runners in the fifth to preserve the lead.
Brookville rallied again in the sixth. After Wisener retired the first two hitters, a walk and single set the stage for a game-tying two-run double to deep center field, evening the score at 7-7.
The Lakers answered immediately in the seventh. Rapp singled to open the inning, Buyer ripped an RBI triple to center for the go-ahead run, and Payton Davis followed with a sacrifice fly to provide an important insurance run and a 9-7 advantage.
Wisener had thrown just two pitches in the bottom of the seventh before lightning and heavy rain suspended the contest.
When play resumed Thursday, Wisener stepped back into the circle and finished what she started, bookending the inning with a pair of strikeouts to clinch the District Final berth for the Lady Lakers.
Despite allowing seven runs, only two were earned against Wisener. She scattered six hits and three walks while striking out 11 on 125 pitches.
At the plate, Mackesy finished with three hits and three RBIs while Rapp recorded two hits, highlighted by the early three-run homer. Buyer added a pair of hits and an RBI, while Davis and Wisener each drove in a run.
Indian Lake improves to 12-15 and will face the No. 1 seed Taylor Yellowjackets out of Cleves in the District Final. The game will take place on Saturday at 11:00 a.m.
Tri-Village 15, West Liberty-Salem 1 (5 innings)
After nearly 48 hours between the two halves of the game, the West Liberty-Salem Lady Tigers saw their season come to an end in a 15-1 run-rule defeat to the top-seeded Tri-Village Lady Patriots in the district semifinals.
Both teams were quiet in the opening frame. The Lady Tigers stranded two runners who both reached on errors, while pitcher Kiersten Stoll tossed a clean 1-2-3 inning in the bottom half to keep the game scoreless after one.
West Liberty-Salem struck first in the second inning. Ashlyn Yeater led off with a double to center, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Rhyla Branham, and scored on a Britton Carter RBI single to right field for a 1-0 lead. The Tigers later loaded the bases in the inning but were unable to add on.
The momentum quickly shifted in the bottom half as Tri-Village erupted for six runs. The Patriots had their first four batters reach safely, including back-to-back singles to open the inning. A catcher error and another defensive mistake allowed Tri-Village to take a 2-1 lead before a runner later stole home to make it 3-1. An RBI groundout pushed across another run, then a later RBI single and a passed ball stretched the lead to 6-1.
The inning concluded moments before storms moved into the area, forcing the game into suspension.
When play resumed Thursday, the Patriots picked up right where they left off. Tri-Village added four more runs in the bottom of the third inning, scoring once on an error at third base, another on a passed ball, and two more on a hard-hit single into center field to extend the lead to 10-1.
The Patriots continued to pour it on in the fourth. A one-out RBI single made it 11-1 and put the run-rule into effect before the very next batter launched a three-run homer to center field. Tri-Village later added one final run on an RBI single into right field for the eventual 15-1 advantage.
West Liberty-Salem went down in order in the top of the fifth, sealing the run-rule defeat.
Offensively, Yeater led the Lady Tigers with a 2-for-2 performance at the plate while Carter and Addison Lucas each recorded a hit. Carter also drove in the team’s lone run.
West Liberty-Salem ends its season with a 9-15 record.
