From staff reports
sports@joplinglobe.com
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Scoring the winning run on a throwing error, Girard nipped Tallmadge (Ohio) 2-1 in eight innings Saturday morning in the semifinals of the Little League Softball Central Region Tournament at the Fair Acres Sports Complex.
But Sterling (Ill.) Little League All-Stars ended Girard’s championship hopes with a 12-0 victory in four innings in the final game.
Sterling rolled past Tecumseh (Mich.) 11-0 in its semifinal contest. Sterling outscored its six regional opponents 52-5 while earning a berth in the World Series in Portland, Ore.
“Sterling was the best team there,” Girard coach Randy Heatherly said. “I told our kids that second place was a great accomplishment. That was about as good as we could hope for.”
Girard, the No. 5 seed after pool play, matched its highest regional finish. Girard also finished as the runner-up three years ago at the Blinzler Sports Complex in Joplin.
Sterling tallied two runs in the first inning and added five runs in both the second and third frames.
Stephanie Kester, Jennifer Rahn and Brooke Hendricks each collected two hits and two runs batted in to pace the Sterling attack.
Kester also was effective in the pitcher’s circle, striking out six batters in four innings while allowing only two hits — singles by Carly Heatherly.
“They had their ace lined up to pitch the championship game, and she just overpowered us,” Coach Heatherly said. “They beat us 9-3 in pool play, but we felt good about our chances. We were up 3-1 in that game before the defense just fell apart. They didn’t start hitting the ball well until late in the game.”
In the semifinals, Girard’s Hadyn Herlocker and Tallmadge’s Kristen Lightel both pitched eight innings, with Herlocker allowing seven hits and Lightel only three.
Girard grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Ashley Johnson tripled and scored on a wild pitch.
Girard maintained its one-run advantage through five innings, but entering the last inning, it was in jeopardy of losing the game.
“We had two girls who had not batted, and under Little League rules, every player must get a turn at bat or it’s a forfeit,” Heatherly said. “We realized it in the fourth inning, but we didn’t have a baserunner in the third, fourth or fifth innings.
“We planned to get two outs, then intentionally walk the third batter and throw the ball away until she scored. But they helped us out when the second hitter got a single, and the next batter doubled, putting runners on second and third.
“We knew they were going to squeeze, and we told our girls to throw to first for the out. They made the bunt, and we threw her out at first as the run scored.”
Girard’s last two hitters got their required at-bat in the bottom of the sixth, and neither team scored in the seventh.
Tristan Broce led off the Girard eighth with a single, continued to second when the left fielder bobbled the ball and moved to third on Ashley Foraker’s flyout to right.
Devin Walsh successfully put down a bunt. The Tallmadge fielder got the ball and faked a throw to first, then turned and threw wildly to third, allowing Broce to score.
