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NPHS advances, Surber gets 200th strikeout
CLAYTON --It was not easy with the Speedway Sparkplugs' pitcher being on her "A" game, but Cougar pitcher Sabrina Surber pitched well enough herself to secure her team a spot into the IHSAA softball sectional championship at Cascade. Surber in earning 16 Ks also earned her 200th strikeout on the season and the Cougars of North Putnam won, 3-2.
"They're (Speedway) one of those teams that you look at their record and the teams they play and their record doesn't describe how well they play," Cougar Coach Benny Ault said. "That's a very good Speedway team. Some of those gutty performances we had at the beginning of the year helped us come through. All that stuff we've been through it's starting to pay off now."
North Putnam will face a familiar competitor in Wednesday's championship game with the Monrovia Bulldogs coming from behind in the sixth inning after being down 2-0 to beat the Cascade Cadets 4-2. Monrovia dropped out of the West Central Conference this past year, which holds the Cougars.
Getting to the championship game started in the second inning. Surber had six strikeouts in the first two defensive outings in the top half the first two innings, including an unconventional four strikeouts in the first inning. In the bottom of the second inning, with the Cougars being the home team, freshman Mia Runnells battled the count before eventually being hit by a pitch.
With Speedway's senior pitcher Mikaela Eytcheson also playing her best Ault decided to have his team play small ball. Junior Lauren Johnston moved Runnells all the way to third with a sacrifice bunt and then junior Alexis Sims laid down a suicide squeeze bunt to score Runnells. A bad decision by Sparkplug first basemen not throwing the ball anywhere allowed Sims to reach first safely. Sims moved to second base on a bad throw by the first basemen to home.
Sims made an attempt to steal third and because of a bad throw by catcher Paige Rush going over the third basemen's head Sims went around and scored.
Speedway loaded the bases in the third inning with two outs without a single hit. An error, a hit batter and a walk put the Sparkplugs in position to do some damage, but Bailey DeLucenay hit a fielders choice that resulted in the third out at home.
"We all made some really good plays tonight," Ault said. "Where we lacked the other girls picked up for them. That was huge."
After 1-2-3 innings by both teams in the fourth Speedway went back to work. Another Cougar error allowed freshman shortstop Rylee Wade to reach and Nikki Ray followed with a single allowing Wade to score. Eytcheson followed again with a single, but Ray was called out going to third. Speedway got its third consecutive hit with Kylie Gruebel hitting a double over left fielder Jazzmin Laffin's head and Eytcheson scored to tie the game.
Ray had already been on second and with Eytcheson's hit being a floater to left centerfield she did not get a good jump. Laffin saw the slow jump and made a great throw to third to get the tag out. Had that out not occurred Gruebel would have knocked her in, giving Speedway the lead and potentially the win with at least one extra batter coming up in the game.
"That's just a huge play," Ault said. "That was a heads up by our left fielder (Laffin). She didn't have one of the best games, but that was a heads-up play right there to get that out."
The Cougars had one more inning left in them. In the bottom of the sixth they got the go ahead run from a Chloe LaPierre double to deep left field that brought home Laffin. Laffin pinch ran for Sierra Spencer, who after a long pitching sequence drew a walk. That proved to be the only run the Cougars would need.
"When Chloe hit that ball into left field we were actually trying to get her to bunt," Ault said. "We were trying to move Laffin over and when she got that it was just big. She had two strikes on her and couldn't bunt, so that was huge for us."
Surber got her 16th and final strikeout of the night to start the seventh inning and only allowed Wade to single to right field before earning the last two outs of the game.
Surber only gave up four total hits, three walks and a hit batter.
"She has been so money for us since county," Ault said. "I couldn't be more proud of her. Not taking away from Sabrina, but this was still a great team win tonight."
As said the Cougars also had a tough time hitting off of Eytcheson. She had seven strikeouts herself and only gave up two hits. Defensive mental errors are what decided the game.
"We haven't seen a pitcher like that in a long time," Ault said. "That was a very good pitcher right there. I compare her a lot to Sabrina. Our girls bought into the small ball and we got some errors on the small ball and that was the difference."
Wednesday night's championship between the Cougars and the Bulldogs is slated to start at 6 p.m. The Cougars have also beaten Covenant Christian to get there and the Bulldogs have beaten Cloverdale as well.
IHSAA 2A Sectional 44
At Cascade High School
Speedway 000 020 0--2
North Putnam 020 001 X--3
WP: Surber (NP), LP: Eytcheson (S)
2B: LaPierre