GREENWICH (Crawford County Now) — In a battle of teams that have struggled over the course of the year, South Central righted the ship at an opportune time.
Entering the post-season tournament with similar records, the No. 3 seed Lady Trojans and No. 5 Bucyrus had a chance to turn fortunes around.
South Central took advantage, banging out 12 hits en route to an 11-1 sectional title win on its home field.
“We’ve been leaving a lot of runners on base, not been able to cash in,” South Central coach Chad Fortune said. “Tonight, the top four (hitters), we kind of mixed some things up, put a slapper unconventionally at the bottom, and put our best four at the top and they delivered.”
Three of the top four Trojans —Zaida Myers, Ember Phillips, and Viola Culler — had three hits apiece. The fourth, Sydnee Middaugh, was on base three times with two walks and being hit by a pitch.
“Their top four of five hitters — I think they’re all above .300 (batting average),” Bucyrus coach Mike Middleton said. “They hit the ball well, a lot of speed at the top. Their leadoff (Myers) had 27 stolen bases coming into tonight. Fortunately, we did throw her out two times.”
Myers set the tone for the game leading off in the bottom of the first with a double to the base of the fence in left-center field. While Myers was caught stealing, Phillips replaced her at second base with another double and the Trojans put a two-spot on the board in the board in the first.
The Lady Red answered in the second with a solo home run by Peyton Fackler to cut the deficit to 2-1. But from there, it was all South Central (6-12).
Culler, while not overpowering in the circle, kept Bucyrus (5-14) hitters off balance throughout. Threes were wild as Culler struck out three, walked three, and surrendered three hits.
“She misses a lot of barrels, which is good for us,” Fortune said of his righthander. “Maybe not a prototypical strikeout pitcher, but we played pretty clean behind her today (one error). When we do that, she’s been pretty effective.”
The Trojan defense bordered on the spectacular at times. Two of the hardest hit balls by the Lady Red ended great catches — an over-the-shoulder catch by centerfielder Claire Howell off the bat of Ni’Cia Floyd and a screaming line drive by Haylee Stratton to third baseman Phillips.
“Ni’Cia’s ball to centerfield — that was an amazing catch,” Middleton said. “Haylee’s ball to third base was a great catch. You catch it or you get hurt.”
South Central added three runs in the second inning, sending eight to the plate and knocking Bucyrus starter Karlee Shull from the circle in the process. Two runs in the third, fourth and sixth innings completed the scoring.
In the only inning Bucyrus kept the Trojans off the board — the fifth — South Central left two runners on base and stranded 10 for the game.
“We haven’t hit the ball as a team,” Fortune said. “Tonight, we hit as a team. Better late than never.”
Every starter in the Trojan lineup scored at least once and six of the nine had at least hit.
“Top to bottom, they hit the ball well tonight,” Middleton said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t. We were off-balance all night — three hits on the night. You’re not going to win a lot of games scoring one run.”
The only hits other than Fackler’s home run were singles by Tori Stang and Addie Weber. The only other base runners were two walks to Shull, one to Stang, and Maci Messerschmidt was safe on an error.
“We had runners in scoring position a couple times. We just couldn’t get the hit,” Middleton said. “If we get the hit, it’s more competitive. Maybe some things go our way then.”
A combination of youth, inexperience, and injuries have taken their toll on the Lady Red.
“We’re still getting through some injuries,” Middleton said. “Karlee’s still not 100% pitching. We’ve got a kid (Stang) playing with a broken finger. It’s been a struggle this year.”
Bucyrus still has three regular season games left — Lucas on Wednesday, Mohawk on Saturday, and the completion of a suspended game with Seneca East.
“This game’s over,” Middleton said. “We’ve got Lucas tomorrow and two games on Saturday. We can still get more wins.”
The Trojans move to the district tournament against Wynford next Tuesday at Shelby. The coach is optimistic, despite having just ended a six-game losing skid.
“I know the (Rylee) Robinson girl can pitch,” Fortune said. “We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Box score
Bucyrus 010 000 X 1 3 2
South Central 232 202 X 11 12 1
WP: Viola Culler (3 SO, 3 W)
LP: Karlee Shull (3 SO, 3 W)
HR: (B) Peryton Fackler (solo second inning).
Triples: None.
Doubles: (SC) Zaida Myers 2, Ember Phillips 2.
Multiple hits: (SC) Zaida Myers 3, Ember Phillips 3, Viola Culler 3.
Records: Bucyrus 5-14; South Central 6-12.
Next: Lucas at Bucyrus, Wednesday; Plymouth at South Central, Wednesday.