Candace Holloway of North Union stretches to catch a ball while covering first base during a Central District semifinals game against Johnstown Monday. The Lady Cats were eliminated from the tournament after an 8-7 loss. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
Sometimes you can win a softball game in every category except the one that counts. The North Union softball crew found itself with better hitting and better defense, but fell short by only one run during an 8-7 loss to Johnstown.
The verdict came during a Division III Central District semifinal game on Monday.
The Lady Cats went into the semifinals with the No. 2 seed, while the Johnnies had the No. 6 seed.
NU coach Dawn Draper said she knew what was coming.
“It is almost like we are too much of fortune tellers, because I told them there were going to be plays that need to be backed up,” she said. “They were going to hit it to the left side and we have to make catches or keep things in front.”
Johnstown tallied hits to the left side.
NU’s mental mistakes gave Johnstown extra bases that led to runs.
However, the game came down to the Lady Cats not getting hits when they needed runs.
North Union left 13 runners on basem even though they out-hit Johnstown 11-8.
Draper said her players battled at the plate, but it was just not getting the key hit when it was needed.
“We walked off hitting the ball, but we just swung at the wrong pitch or got behind in the count,” she said. “We had to protect more, causing us to pop up or not hit it as hard.”
The Lady Cats, who have been using three pitchers a game this season, started with Reese DeCamp inside the circle.
The hits also came for the Johnnies, who picked up their first runs with a homer over the centerfield fence to take a 2-0 lead in the second inning.
DeCamp started the third inning and found herself in trouble.
That led to walking in Johnstown’s third run.
The 3-0 gap prompted Draper to call on the arm of Bailee Amstutz to take over in the third. She got out of the bases-loaded jam with a groundout from third to first base.
North Union picked up its first runs in the bottom of third.
Cagney Stewart hit a single up the middle.
She took off for second and got caught in a run down with Laine Sparks at third base.
Sparks ran home, prompting a throw by the Johnnies.
The throw went to the backstop, allowing Stewart to wrap around to third base. Amstutz gave NU itsecond run with a single RBI.
NU closed the gap to 3-2 by the end of the third.
Johnstown picked up a pair of runs in the fourth inning with Amstutz back on the rubber.
With a 5-2 gap, Draper called in Sparks to take over.
The sophomore pitcher punched out the first batter she faced.
A long hit over the left field fence, however, stretch the Johnnies’ lead to 7-2.
North Union was able to answer with a single RBI by Kayla Sedgwick in the bottom half of the fourth to move to the score to 7-3.
The two teams played solid defense in the fifth and sixth innings before the Johnnies hit their third shot over the fence in the top of the seventh inning to take an 8-3 lead.
Down by five, Draper said she was confident her team was going to pick up some runs during its last chance inside the box.
“I knew we could score four, but can we score five,” she said. “We have scored four against good teams in the past.
“When they switched pitchers, I thought we are in this,” she said. “We just needed that one little hit here and there.”
Jada Davis led off the inning with a double and Candace Holloway picked up first on a walk.
Sedgwick singled in a pair of runs.
Regan Martino followed with a double that scored NU’s sixth run.
Sparks stepped to the plate with two outs and a runner at second.
She hit a shot to centerfield that nearly tied the game when the ball bounced off the fence that brought the game to 8-7.
The Lady Cats couldn’t complete their comeback when a fly ball to center ended the game.
The Lady Cats ended the season with a 20-7 record.
JHN 021 400 1 8 8 3
NU 002 100 4 7 11 1
WP-Walters
LP-DeCamp