North Harrison won districts for the third straight year 3-0 over Albany as Payton Craig, pitching on back to back outings, tossed a three hitter to stop the Warriors. North Harrison used stingy defense to get to a rematch with Jefferson. They will host the Eagles Wednesday at 6 pm in Eagleville and seek to avenge a 5-3 loss earlier in the season.
For North Harrison, they gave up no runs at all; Payton Craig allowed only four hits while striking out 15 in 14 innings of work.
Albany constantly put the ball in play all day, but North Harrison was able to make plays in the field when they had to in order to keep Albany off the board. Albany sent out Madalyn Rainey to try and slow down the Shamrocks; she was able to keep them off balance with her change, which she threw anywhere in the count. But North Harrison was able to get enough hitting to get on the board.
The Shamrocks got on the board in the first when Payton Craig shot a single to left. Brandi Rivet hit a foul pop on the left side of home; third baseman Gabby Newman and catcher Abbey Wilson chased after it before Newman came up with it; however, Craig advanced to second on the play. Ashlynn Gilpatrick struck out on a change and Audrey Briggs got down 0-2 in the count. But then she battled back to 3-2 and then tripled to right center field as Craig scored to make it 1-0.
Albany tried all game to follow Worth County’s lead against Payton Craig; either chase after her first pitch strike or foul off her pitches and force her to throw a good pitch or draw a walk. Abbey Wilson battled through 10 pitches in the second and fouled off five of them before popping out after Riley Houts had reached on a dropped third strike. In the third, Amber Davis got down 0-2 but fouled off two pitches and draw a walk to start the third. Madalyn Rainey fouled off five different pitches before finally drawing a one-pitch walk. Then, third baseman Ashlynn Gilpatrick threw away a force at third; thankfully, left fielder Audrey Briggs was there for the backup to keep a run from scoring. That loaded up the bases, but Albany was not able to convert. Gilpatrick, obviously playing with a short memory, snagged Lauryn Shoush’s line drive and stepped on third to double off Davis. Lauryn Brown hit a pop fly to right field that looked like trouble, but Carly Rinehart made a running grab to end the inning with no damage done. It was not the only time Gilpatrick had been opportunistic playing third; she had picked a Hamilton runner off second in the final inning as the Hornets were trying to erase a 5-2 deficit during the regular season.
Rainey froze Rinehart on a change to start the third, but then Payton Craig crushed a double off the left field wall and Brandi Rivet singled her home to make it 2-0.
Albany finally broke up Payton Craig’s no-hit bid in the fifth when Davis and Rainey hit back to back singles, but that came to nothing. North Harrison got an insurance run when Carly Rinehart singled to bring up Payton Craig. Craig popped out to right field, but the right fielder threw it away trying to double off Rinehart, who made it to second. Brandi Rivet singled her home to make it 3-0.
For Coach Brandon Craig, winning districts doesn’t get old. “Albany was a good team that’s going to be around for a few years,” he said. “Jefferson’s still one of the top teams in the area until someone proves otherwise.” For the last few years, Jefferson and Stanberry have barred the way past sectionals. North Harrison will seek to break the barrier Wednesday night.
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