Steve Fields
Tribune-Star Correspondent
ODON —
Bases on balls, errors and the lack of timely hits ended the Shakamak High School softball season Saturday in the Class A North Daviess Semistate.
West Washington took advantage of five walks and three defensive errors in the first three innings, then held off the Lakers’ bats over the final four innings for a 5-4 victory.
“We finally started getting on the board and put pressure on them in the fifth, sixth and seventh [innings], but it was just a little bit too late. The errors came back to haunt us. We gave up more walks than we normally like, but overall on the season we’re pleased,” Shakamak coach B.A. Shipman said.
Shakamak outhit West Washington’s Senators 11-5, but the Lakers managed just two hits in the first three innings while stranding five baserunners.
Mikayla Crane was 2 for 4 with a triple and Makeisha Bickley was 2 for 3 with a double to lead the Lakers’ 11-hit attack. Kelsey Pilant and Meghan Miller each had two hits and Amber Chesterfield drove in two runs with a single and sacrifice fly.
Shakamak pitchers Kelsey Samm and Laura Irons held the Senators to just five hits. West Washington’s Eden Tuttle led off the fifth with a double and, with two outs, Tory Brewer belted a triple that put the Senators up 5-1.
Down 1-0 in the bottom of the first, Shakamak loaded the bases when Bryly Shipman singled and Samm and Chesterfield received back-to-back walks. But West Washington’s Haylea Stephenson ended the threat with a strikeout.
“We left the bases loaded in the first. We just needed the timely hitting early in the game that we needed to get to the next level,” coach Shipman said.
The Lakers actually got out of big trouble in the fourth. The Senators scored twice on errors and still had bases loaded and one out. Samm struck out the next two batters to end the inning.
Shakamak started chipping away at its deficit with single runs in the fourth, five and sixth. But in the fourth, the Lakers stranded runners on second and third and in the fifth they hit into an inning-ending double play.
The Lakers cut the Senators’ lead to 5-3 in the sixth when Miller singled, went to second on an error and scored on Bickley’s double. But again, Shakamak left a runner on second base.
Batting for the final time in her high school career, Crane led off the seventh with a single that gave Shakamak one last opportunity to tie the score. She moved to second on a throwing error and scored on Chesterfield’s sacrifice fly.
But that was the second out, the bases were empty and the rally and season were over.
The loss ended the high school careers of seniors Tori Bedwell, Hunter Baker, Sidney Fowler, Lacey Gilbert, Riley Montgomery, Jazmine Martin and Crane.
West Washington 100 220 0 — 5 5 2
Shakamak 000 111 1 — 4 11 4
Stephenson and Roby; Samm, Irons (5) and Chesterfield. W — Stephenson, 13-3. L — Samm.
Highlights — For Shakamak, Mikayla Crane was 2 for 4 with a triple and Makeisha Bickley was 2 for 3 with a double. Amber Chesterfield drove in two runs with a single and sacrifice fly and Kelsey Pilant and Meghan Miller each had two hits. West Washington’s five hits were spread out among five players, led by Tory Brewer with a triple and Eden Tuttle with a double.
Next — West Washington (19-8) was to play the winner of the second semifinal between Tecumseh (24-7) and Indianapolis Lutheran (22-4). Shakamak finished 17-13.
