SHELBY, Ohio — Shelby’s first tournament victory since 2011 didn’t come easy.
The Whippets jumped out to a 4-0 lead and held on for a 4-3 win over Ontario in the Division II sectional championship game Friday at Shelby.
The Whippets (19-8) will play Edison at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Seneca East in the district semifinals. Edison advanced with a 7-6 win over Clyde on Thursday.
Ontario (8-14) scored two runs in the seventh and had the game-tying run at third base before Shelby pitcher Hayley Kanzig induced a groundout to end the game.
“We hit the ball. We had a lot of runners on,” Ontario coach Chris Musille said. “We needed a clutch hit.
“We kept battling. I can’t ask much more from my girls. They played great.”
Stranded: Ontario left 12 runners on base, including eight in scoring position. The Warriors left the bases loaded in the fourth and two on in the fifth and sixth.
“They had their chances,” Shelby coach Tim Swigart said. “We had a whole bunch of runners stranded, too. We had three in the first inning.”
Early Advantage: The Whippets scored a run in the home half of the first when speedy leadoff hitter Kennadie Goth bunted for a base hit, stole second, went to third on Emily Gove’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Camryn Zehner’s run-scoring double.
“It’s easier to pitch a lead,” Kanzig said. “I just concentrated on throwing strikes and let my defense do the rest.”
Big Inning: Shelby scored three runs in the fourth, sending eight batters to the plate against Ontario starter Lauren Musille. Kanzig and Goth drove in runs.
Fighting Back: Ontario cut Shelby’s lead to 4-1 in the fifth when Lindsay Musille walked and eventually scored on Lebriana Wallace’s single. Then in the seventh, Katherin Remy and Brianna Carmack drove in runs to make it 4-3.
Season Sweep: Shelby won both regular season meetings, beating Ontario 3-2 and 9-6.
“In the 9-6 game we were up going into the fifth,” Musille said. “We had one bad inning.”
Defense: Each team committed just one error. The Whippets turned a pair of double plays and nearly turned a triple play in the fifth. Third baseman Gove snared a line drive, stepped on third to retire Lauren Musille and fired to second. Wallace just beat the throw back to second.
“Our defense has played good for 14 of our last 16 games,” Swigart said. “We averaged one or two errors a game but it seems like they are never at key times.
“Our third baseman was mad because she wanted the triple play. That’s just the mentality they have.”
Building: Ontario, which started five frehsmen, advanced to Friday’s sectional final with a 4-3 upset win at Lexington earlier in the week.
“It was a big confidence booster,” Musille said. “We played Lexington very well the first time we played them and lost 5-3. We definitely took advantage of our opportunities the second time. Lexington is a great team. We were lucky to get by them.”
