The West Central Heat softball squad was at Sterling High School on Monday for a Class 1A super-sectional match up against the Forreston Cardinals. A berth in the state finals for the first time in either team’s program history was on the line.
West Central freshman pitcher Addie Seitz got out of a big-time jam in the bottom of the first inning. Seitz gave up a double and a single to the first two batters she faced. Seitz would settle in and retire the next two hitters on fly outs and then get a strike out to end the threat. After giving up the two lead-off hits, Seitz would retire the next eight Cardinal hitters in order.
The Heat offense got going in the top of the second, scoring a solo run on an rbi double by Shelby Bowman, scoring Bailey Ryan. West Central put up a crooked number in the top of the third. Addie Seitz blasted her 5th home run of the season, followed in the next at-bat by Mackenzy Ludington’s 6th homer of the season. The Heat weren’t done scoring, pushing across another run in the 3rd on Bowman’s second rbi double of the game, scoring Ryan once again.
The score remained 4-0 until the bottom of the 5th. Hailey Greenfield’s 2-run double cut the Heat lead in half, at 4-2. The Cardinals scored a single run in the bottom of the 6th to make it 4-3, setting up an exciting 7th inning.
West Central’s Brynna Seitz led off the top of the 7th with a triple and would later score on an infield error by the Cardinals, giving the Heat a 5-3 lead going into the bottom of the 7th.
The Cardinals were hoping to draw from experience a game earlier in the postseason, coming back from a 2-run deficit to Dakota in Saturday afternoon’s sectional championship game. A single and 2-run home run by Brooke Boettner tied it up just two batters into the bottom of the 7th. Seitz settled down once again, retiring the next two hitters in the order, but Forreston’s Ella Ingram blasted a 2-out, solo homerun to opposite field walking-the-game-off and send the Cardinals to this weekend’s class 1A state finals. The final score of 6-5 flashed on the scoreboard and the Cardinals dugout swarmed Ingram as she crossed home plate.
The Heat end an historic season at (28-7). West Central head coach Scott Swiler was proud of the fight in his girls on Monday…..and all season long.
The Heat end an historic season at (28-7), which included a Lincoln Trail Conference-best mark of (17-1). It was the second LTC title under Swiler’s leadership and fourth conference championship since the consolidation of the Union and Southern schools districts in 2005.
For the replay of the radio broadcast of the Sectional semifinal, Sectional championship and Super-Sectional games, go to the SPORTS PODCAST section.
