Throughout the 2012 softball season, the young Princeton Lady Tigers would find a multitude of positive moments. There were victories at Gallatin and South Harrison that led to a 5-4 Grand River Conference record. However, Princeton's Achilles Heel was defense. When it was good, Princeton was good, and when it struggled, the Lady Tigers game would as well.
Much like their season, on Saturday in the Class 1, District 15 championship game, Princeton looked in command against North Harrison, only to see an error-filled sixth inning send the Lady Shamrocks into the Class 1 playoffs with a 9-5 victory in a game played at North Mercer High School.
Princeton led 5-2 going into the bottom of the sixth inning, but six errors in that frame helped lead to a SEVEN run North Harrison rally. Princeton was unable to rally in the seventh inning and fell by a score of 9-5, ending their season at 12-11.
Coach Chrystal Mayfield praised her team for a 'very good' season, but did admit that Saturday would be a tough loss for the Lady Tigers. She said the team will miss senior Emily Schwenneker and Nancy Berwanger next season, but will have a great base of sophomores coming back as juniors in 2013 to build upon.
Berwanger, in her final game at Princeton, had two runs scored, a base hit, and two walks, while Shaylee Henley had a two-run home run.
North Harrison advances into the Class 1 state playoffs, where they will play at District 16 champion Stanberry on Wednesday night. Stanberry advanced with a 1-0 victory on Saturday morning against the Jefferson Lady Eagles.
Here are the rest of the DISTRICT softball championship scores from over the weekend:
Class 1, District 9:
Knox County 4, Scotland County 3
Class 1, District 10:
LaPlata 10, Bevier 4
Class 1, District 11:
Northeast (Cairo) 12, Salisbury 7
Class 1, District 12:
Meadville 10, Brunswick 8 (9 innings)
Class 1, District 13:
DeKalb 4, Norborne 1
Class 1, District 14:
King City 9, Maysville 3
Class 2, District 14:
Higginsville 10, Lexington 1
Class 2, District 15:
Brookfield 10, Penney (Hamilton) 0
Class 2, District 16:
Bishop LeBlond 10, North Platte 6
Class 3, District 16:
St. Joseph Benton 9, Smithville 4 |
