Lady Aces win regional championship
Mulberry Grove won its fifth regional title in seven years last Thursday, using a flurry of late scoring to secure an 11-1 win against Odin at the Odin Regional.
Sophomore Breann Tompkins had an inside-the-park home run to highlight a 3-for-4 day from the plate, which also included two runs and two RBI.
Her home run came in the sixth inning and scored senior Cheyenne Rogier. Sam Goodin followed with a triple, and she scored on a passed ball to give the Lady Aces a 10-run lead.
Odin stranded a runner at third base in the bottom of the sixth. In the game, the Eagles left 11 runners on base and were 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
The Lady Aces led just 2-0 after the fourth inning, with Tompkins scoring on a single by Goodin in the second, and Kayla Zimmerman singling home Karissa Woody in the fourth.
In the fifth, however, the Lady Aces' bats started rolling, scoring six runs on seven hits to take a big lead.
Kate Jolliff, Harley Tompkins and Rogier opened the inning with back-to-back-to-back singles to produce a run.
With one out, Woody brought home Tompkins, and she and Rogier scored when Goodin reached on an error.
Zimmerman reached on an infield single, and senior Megan Blankenship then brought home two runs with a single.
Each batter had at least one hit during the game, with seven Lady Aces recording a multi-hit game.
Blankenship picked up the win – her 17th of the season – tossing six innings and striking out six. She allowed one unearned run in the fifth.
With the win, the Lady Aces advanced to the Woodlawn Sectional, where they played Altamont on Wednesday.
Results of that game will be posted at www.leaderunion.com on Thursday morning.
If Mulberry Grove won that game, the team would play in Saturday's 11 a.m. sectional title game against either Woodlawn or Red Hill.
Box score
Thursday, May 17
at Odin Regional
Mulberry Grove 11
Odin 1
MG: 0-1-0-1-6-3—11-18-3
OHS: 0-0-0-1-0-0—1-6-1
WP: Blankenship (17-4); 6 IP, 6 K, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 H, 2 BB
LP: Horton
Lady Aces: B. Tompkins, 3-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 runs; Zimmerman, 3-for-4, RBI, 2 runs; Goodin, 2-for-4, 3B, RBI, 2 runs; Woody, 2-for-4, RBI, 2 runs; Rogier, 2-for-4, RBI, 2 runs; Jolliff, 2-for-4, run; Koontz, 2-for-4; Blankenship, 1-for-4, 2 RBI; H. Tompkins, 1-for-4, run.
Record: 21-4