By Michael Rich
Abby Blosser hit a bases loaded triple in the sixth inning to push Hamilton Township past host Buckeye Valley 6-3 in the second round of the Division II district softball tournament Thursday in Delaware.
Four straight Rangers reached base with one out in the decisive sixth. Chase Gray-Still doubled, Karly Wade singled and Brittany Haughn walked to set up Abby Blosser’s big hit.
Wade led Hamilton Township with three hits and Autumn Blosser, Gray-Still and Peyton Welsh each had two hits.
Autumn Blosser led the game off with a single, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Gray-Still’s groundout to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead in the first.
Allison Fathbruckner worked a leadoff walk in the bottom half and scored on a double to the left-center gap to tie it 1-1.
Autumn Blosser drove in a run on a double in the third inning and Haughn worked a bases loaded walk with two outs to give Hamilton Township a 3-1 lead.
Fathbruckner tattooed a RBI triple and scored on a throwing error to tie it back up in the bottom of the third.
Wade, who started in the circle for the Rangers, settled in to retire the next six batters and nine out of her final 10 to pick up the win.
Overall, she allowed three runs (two earned) on eight hits and two walks over a complete seven innings. She struck out two.
Kasey Morris went the distance for BV, but took the loss. She allowed 13 hits, four walks and struck out two.
Fathbruckner and Morris each had two hits and drove in a run. Fathbruckner scored two runs and Taylor Jenkins had two hits as well for the Barons.
Next up, Hamilton Township will play the winner of second-seeded Jonathan Alder and 14th-seeded Bexley in the district semifinal Tuesday at 5 p.m.
DIVISION IV SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT
Danville 12, Delaware Christian 0.
DIVISON II BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
Buckeye Valley 7, Sparta Highland 1
Nick Cooper and Leo Wells each had two hits and drove in a run to back Hayden Owens’ complete-game performance on the mound to help Buckeye Valley to its second upset in as many days in the D-II tournament.
“The kids are really buying into each other,” Barons coach Adam Hall said. “They’re seeing the baseball well at the plate and having great at-bats. They’re just having fun playing the game that they’ve played since they were little kids.”
Owens struck out eight batters. He allowed four hits, two walks and hit two batters.
“It was a gritty performance — (Owens) had good stuff — he was throwing hard,” Hall said. “Highland is a good team — they hit fastballs well. (Owens) did a good job of keeping them off-balance.”
14th-seeded BV broke through in the first on a RBI single by Wells to go ahead 1-0.
The Barons rallied for four hits in a two-run third, which included singles by Cooper, Ben Kidwell and Wells before Josh Dodds doubled. Kidwell and Dodds each drove in a run to push it to 3-0.
Owens, Cooper and Spaulding drove in three of the final four runs for the Barons.
“It’s easy to tell that they’re enjoying what they’re doing,” Hall said. “I think winning makes that a little easier, but they’re playing with heart.”
Max Schrieber, who took the loss for the seventh-seeded Scots, allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits and a walk. He struck out five over 3.2 innings.
BV will go for its third upset of the tournament against third-seeded Bishop Watterson Monday at 5 p.m. at a site to be announced.
DIVISION IV BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
Delaware Christian 4, Granville Christian 3
Seth Standley singled home Riley Michalak and Adam Standley scored on a passed ball to lift 14th-seeded Delaware Christian to a thrilling walkoff win over visiting and 15th-seeded Granville Christian in a district tournament game Thursday in Delaware.
DCS trailed 3-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh, but, with one out, Michalak got the Eagles started with a walk. Adam Standley then reached on an error to put the tying runs on base.
Seth Standley singled home Michalak an out later and Adam Standley, who made it all the way to third on Seth’s single, scored on a passed ball to seal the deal.
Seth Standley finished with two of the Eagles’ five hits and their lone RBI.
Ryan Manny picked up the win on the mound, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out seven and walking four.
Next up, DCS will take on fourth-seeded and host Danville in today’s second-round game.
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Follow Michael Rich on Twitter @mrichdelgazette.
