Lady Indians advance to sectional semifinals
Milan Softball
Milan softball dropped Class A No. 6 Rising Sun for a second time this season in the opening round of the Class A Sectional 60 Tournament. The Lady Indians square off against Jac-Cen-Del tonight in the semifinal round.
Not many softball sectionals across the state kicked off with a matchup of two Top 10 teams but such was the case on Memorial Day as No. 3 Milan began its Class A Sectional 60 title defense with a 6-1 victory over No. 6 Rising Sun in the opening round hosted by the Lady Shiners.
The co-Ohio River Valley Conference champions met for a third time and the rubber match saw Milan earn a 2-1 series win for the season. Rising Sun ends the year with a 17-7 record.
It was a collective mess for the Lady Shiners who not only struggled on offense but also committed five fielding errors and allowed Milan nine hits to add salt to the wound. The Lady Indians jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back, leading 5-0 before Rising Sun scored its only run in the fifth.
Milan answered with its last run one inning later. Kynadee Bode paced the offense by going 3-for-4 with a home run, double, two RBI and a run scored. Nevaeh Carpenter added two hits and an RBI while Emma Voss and Mallory Eaglin each drove in a run on a hit. Voss added a run scored.
Braelyn Drew put up a single and run scored and McKenna Eaglin scored twice and went 1-for-4. Bode was the winning pitcher after throwing a complete game. She allowed an earned run on five hits through seven innings and struck out four against no walks.
Lily Courtney hit a solo home run for Rising Sun in the fifth inning. Elaina Titkemeyer was the losing pitcher, She allowed nine hits and struck out nine in the midst of giving up six runs.
Milan (27-4) was slated for a Wednesday night semifinal game against Jac-Cen-Del while the second semifinal at Rising Sun featured Trinity Lutheran (3-15) against Hauser (12-10). Hauser beat Oldenburg Academy 10-0 in the second opening round game on Monday.
Statistics from that contest were not provided by time of print. Oldenburg wrapped up with a 1-14 record.
