The Trenton Lady Bulldogs, after a two-run homer launched into the right-center field night at Mark Griffin Memorial Field, led Marceline 5-4 through 3 1/2 innings in Thursday night’s Class 2, District 16 semifinals. That would be the last lead Trenton enjoyed all night.
The second-seeded Lady Tigers rallied from two early deficits to score two runs in the bottom of the 5th and add two more in the 6th, beating the Lady Bulldogs 8-5 and advancing to Saturday night’s championship game against Putnam County.
Trenton opened the game fast, with Maci Moore hammering a solo homer over the center field fence to start the top of the first inning. The Lady Bulldogs added a run in the top of the 2nd, answered by a Lady Tiger run in the bottom half. However, Trenton extended the lead back to 3-1 with a third inning tally.
One of the key moments of the game occurred in the bottom of the third inning, with Marceline scoring three times to temporarily rip the advantage away from Trenton, 4-3. A three-base error on an outfield misplay opened the gates for the Tiger uprising. Down 8-5 in the top of the 7th, Trenton appeared on the verge of a rally, with a Chandler Lynch single followed by a Whitaker walk. However, a strikeout, ground ball to first base, and a comebacker to the pitcher ended the season for THS.
The win sends Marceline’s record to 19-4, with Trenton ending the year, and the Lady Bulldog careers of seniors McKayla Blackburn and Lexi Whitaker, with a mark of 16-8. Thursday night’s game was broadcast on KTTN FM 92.3.
Putnam County, on Thursday night, scored eight runs in the bottom of the first inning to make quick work of Brookfield, winning 10-0 in five innings, sending the Grand River Conference champions into Saturday night’s final with Marceline.
In Trenton’s quarterfinal game with Milan, on Wednesday night, broadcast on KTTN, Blackburn fired five shutout innings of one-hit softball at Milan, while the Lady Bulldogs broke open a tight game with three runs in the second inning, and four more in the 4th, cruising to a 10-0 run-rule victory. Milan ended the year with a record of 7-13.
Brookfield beat South Harrison on Wednesday night by a score of 8-2. In the championship game on Saturday, Marceline upset the top-seeded Lady Midgets of Putnam County, rolling to a 9-2 win, sending the Lady Tigers, with a record of 20-4, into the Class 2 state sectional round on Wednesday night, October 23rd, at East Buchanan.
Other district final results from the weekend were:
Class 3, District 16:
Savannah 2, Smithville 1
Class 3, District 15:
Kirksville 9, Chillicothe 2
Class 2, District 15:
East Buchanan 8, Mid-Buchanan 4
Class 2, District 14:
Penney 7, Richmond 1
Class 2, District 13:
Higginsville 5, Knob Noster 4
Class 1, District 16:
Platte Valley 8, Stanberry 7 (8 innings)
Class 1, District 15:
Princeton 3, North Harrison 1
Class 1, District 14:
DeKalb 4, North Andrew 1
Class 1, District 13:
Maysville 14, Gallatin 2
Class 1, District 12:
Norborne 5, Braymer 4
Class 1, District 11:
Brunswick 15, Linn County 0
Class 1, District 10:
Atlanta 7, Schuyler County 1
