Horton’s 24K’s power LHS to sectional bliss

Lanesville sophomore Allison Horton was on a mission Friday night at the Class 1A Lanesville Sectional.
Horton struck out 11 batters in her team’s 1-0 semifinal victory over South Central, which had defeated the Lady Eagles three times this season. Horton came back in the championship game against Christian Academy to fan 13 more in Lanesville’s 4-0 victory.
For the two sectional games, Horton allowed only three hits, two walks, no runs, and she struck out 24 as she improved to 14-7.
Lanesville (14-8) advances to its own regional Saturday and will face Southern Athletic Conference-rival New Washington (10-9) at 1 p.m.
In the first game at 11 a.m., No. 7-ranked Hauser goes up against Loogootee. The championship is slated for 7 p.m.
Lady Eagles Coach Kayla Straub is just a couple of years removed from winning a sectional championship as a Lady Panther at Corydon Central. At just 21 years of age, she’s probably the youngest coach in the history of the state to win a softball sectional as a player and a coach.
‘It’s totally different between being a player and a coach. When we won when I was in high school, it was about me and the rest of my team and how happy we were,’ Straub said.
‘As a coach, I’m more happy for my players. They really deserved it. We finally put everything together for two games. This is great.’
Horton slammed the door in the final three innings, striking out six Lady Warriors (5-14).
‘(Horton) was by far the strongest and most accurate pitcher we’ve faced this season,’ said Christian Academy coach Jim Bledsoe. ‘Then her change-up was just amazing. We practiced with the pitching machine set on the highest setting, and I was hoping that would help us hit the ball. She just kept us off balance all game long.’
Lanesville got the only run it would need in the bottom of the first.
Brittany Mix doubled to left center and scored when she attempted to steal third and the throw from the plate sailed into left field.
The winners added another insurance run in the fourth when Beth Dorgay led off with a walk, moved to third on an error and scored on a wild pitch.
Two more runs came in for the Lady Eagles in the fifth.
Horton hit one deep for a one-out double. Brittany Johnson popped out to third to bring up Amanda Parsons. She promptly sent one up the middle for a RBI. Dorgay followed with a bloop hit to left to score Parsons, who had stole third.
‘(Parsons) really stepped up at the plate for us. She’s come so far this year,’ Straub said. ‘They all just did a great job today. It’s hard to point any one player out. They just did what they had to do.’

Lanesville 1, South Central 0

The fourth time was a charm.
Coming into Friday’s sectional semifinal, South had already defeated Lanesville three times: twice on the regular slate and once in the New Washington Invitational tourney.
Lanesville bucked the losing trend when it counted with a hard-fought, 1-0 nail-biter.
The lone run came in the fourth frame.
Brittany Johnson singled and went to third on a follow-up base knock by Amanda Parsons. South Central pitcher Brittany Tuell struck out Erin Harbeson, but Dorgay grounded out to second base to score Johnson.
South’s only threat came in the sixth, when senior Melissa Biesel came through with her team’s only hit ‘ a double ‘ to lead off the inning.
Biesel went to third on a passed ball.
In the defensive play of the game, Brooke Kingsley hit pop fly to Rebekah McKim at third base, and Biesel broke for home. McKim snared the ball and flipped it back to shortstop Mix, who was covering the bag, for the double-play.
‘I lost the game, not Melissa,’ said South coach Bob Zumar. ‘I was too wrapped up in the game at that point, and I sent her in. I was too anxious and too wrapped up in the game.
‘I know she feels bad, and I know the girls feel bad. That was completely my fault. If I had not sent her, we still would have had a runner with third and two more outs to get her in.
‘This is a hard one to take. That was the best Horton has pitched in two years against us. We still came away with a great season and have plenty to be proud about. We finished 17-7, which is a school record, won the conference undefeated, won the New Washington tourney, and won the county tournament. It’s been a great year.’
Despite striking out nine batters of her own, Tuell’s record fell to a still-respectable 16-7 while Horton pushed her mark to 13-7.