Jayliegh Robins went deep for North Harrison, nearly completing the cycle again with a single, a triple, and a home run, and North Harrison had a much easier time of it with Mercer, beating them 10-0 in six innings. In the HDC Conference Tournament, Mercer had given North Harrison all they could handle before the Shamrocks found a way to win the championship game.
This time, North Harrison didn’t give Mercer any hope. In the top of the first, Mercer threatened as Summer Martin walked and Rainey Michael singled; they pulled off a double steal with one out. But then Carly Rinehart struck out Jordan Coon and Kaydee Hill to get out of the inning with no damage done.
Last time, North Harrison erased a runner on the basepaths early and gave Mercer hope that they could pull off the win. This time, it didn’t work as Jayliegh Robins pulled off a scratch hit past first, Carly Rinehart hit another seeing-eye single just past third, and then Emma Craig went up to bunt. She failed to get it down the first two times, but then bunted anyway with two strikes on her and laid down a perfect bunt that died halfway between the plate and the pitcher’s mound. Everybody was safe, and Robins alertly scrambled back to third on a pickoff throw.
Robins then came down to score on a wild pitch. Rainey Fordyce popped out, but then North Harrison got yet another scratch hit to load the bases as Camden Castleberry beat out a slow roller to the pitcher to load the bases again. The floodgates opened up after that as Kami Gibson hit yet another seeing-eye single, a pop fly that dropped just before the left fielder, to score Rinehart. Jaci Davis, a freshman who has really come on strong for the Shamrocks during the latter part of the season, singled home Amber Wilson (running for Craig) and Castleberry, and Ruby Heintz grounded out to score Kami Gibson to make it 5-0.
The wind was blowing out from left to right, and Jayliegh Robins took full advantage, hitting a monster shot that made it to the wall of the baseball fence, 250 feet away, to make it 6-0 in the second.
North Harrison got into some trouble in the fourth after Jordan Coon chased a high pitch and hit it into center, and Kaydee Hill singled to center to put runners on second. But then Nataleigh Klaiber forced Gracie Rogers (running for Coon) at third, and Maddi Fisher flied out to Rainey Fordyce in center to quash the threat.
The Shamrocks continued to get scratch hits to pull away in the fourth. First, Carly Rinehart singled to left and Emma Craig hit yet another seeing-eye single, a shot off the shortstop’s glove, to put runners on first and second. Rainey Fordyce forced Craig at second, but then stole second to set up runners at second and third with one out. Camden Castleberry grounded out to score Natalie Parkhurst (running for Rinehart), and then Kami Gibson beat out an infield single to score Fordyce to put the Shamrocks on top 8-0 after four.
Jayliegh Robins nearly had her second home run, getting a triple off the wall in right in the fifth. Carly Rinehart singled her home to make it 9-0 after five.
Kami Gibson beat out her second infield hit of the night and made it to second on a throwing error to set up North Harrison’s final run. Jaci Davis hit it hard, but right at the shortstop for the first out, but then Ruby Heintz refused to go down on strikes and worked a 3-2 count for a walk on a low pitch. Trendi Johnson hit a single into the gap in left center that would have been extra bases had the game not ended when Kami Gibson crossed the plate.
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