TIPP CITY – It looked like a mismatch on paper, but East Clinton’s softball team took Benjamin Logan right to the end Saturday before falling 5-4 in a Division III Southwest District championship game at Upper Miami Valley Medical Center Field at Tippecanoe Middle School.
The Lady Astros finish their season at 8-11. The Lady Raiders continue to the regional tournament with a 25-2 record.
Despite playing in a district title game for the second straight season, East Clinton was the underdog. The Lady Astros limped into the post-season having won just two of its last nine games.
But East Clinton was impressive in rolling up three straight tournament wins over Reading, Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy and Clermont Northeastern.
And unlike last season’s 10-0 loss to Williamsburg in the district title game, East Clinton jumped on top early against Ben Logan. Taylor Boeckmann used her speed to race home from first on a sacrifice bunt by Kaitlin Durbin. When the throw went to second to get Boeckmann bounced by the second baseman and centerfielder, EC coach Matthew Zimmerman did not hesitate to wave Boeckmann home for a 1-0 lead.
Jericka Boggs drove in Durbin to put East Clinton on top 2-0 four batters in to the game.
Ben Logan tied the game in the second on a two-run single by Gretchen Wilber in the second. The Raiders took a 3-2 lead in the third when Grace Deardurff drove a Mackenzie Campbell pitcher over the fence in left field.
The Astros bounced off the mat in the next inning by putting Kiera Brightman and Alexis Rolfe on base with one out. However Deardurff wiggled off the hook to keep EC in a 3-2 hole.
East Clinton grabbed the lead again in the sixth. Boggs and Brightman singled to start the sixth and one out later Rolfe did the same to load the bases.
With two outs, Kaitlyn Talbott reached on a throwing error and Boggs and Brightman scored to put EC on top 4-3.
Ben Logan tied the game with an unearned run in the sixth then won it on Haley Wilson’s run-producing single in the seventh.
SUMMARY
May 19 2019
Division III District Championship
Upper Miami Valley Medical Center Field
@Tippecanoe Middle School
Ben Logan 5 East Clinton 4
EC 200.002.0…..4
BL 021.001.1…..5
(4) EAST CLINTON (ab-r-h-rbi) Boeckmann 2-1-0-0 Campbell 4-0-0-0 Durbin 3-1-0-0 Boggs 4-1-3-1 Brightman 4-1-2-0 Luttrell 4-0-0-0 Rolfe 3-0-2-0 Peacock 3-0-0-0 Talbott 3-0-1-0 Kessler 0-0-0-0 Runk 0-0-0-0. TOTALS 30-4-8-1
(5) BEN LOGAN (ab-r-h-rbi) Naragon 4-0-0-0 Wilson 4-0-1-1 Deardurff 3-1-2-1 Martin 0-0-0-0 Roose 3-0-1-0 Gibson 0-1-0-0 Maxwell 2-1-1-0 Cronkleton 3-0-1-0 Frazier 3-1-1-0 Wilber 3-1-3-2 Regula 2-0-0-0. TOTALS 27-5-10-4
2B: BL-Maxwell, Wilber; EC-Brightman, Talbott
HR: BL-Deardurff
SB: BL-Frazier; EC-Rolfe
SAC: BL-Maxwell, Regula; EC-Durbin
PITCHING^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO
East Clinton
Campbell (L)^6.2^10^4^2^0^0
Ben Logan
Deardurff (W)^7^8^4^0^2^12