Worth County’s Rylee Ruckman cracked a game-winning two run single in the bottom of the 7th inning on Monday night, sending the top-seeded Lady Tigers to a 6-5 win over Princeton, in District 7 semifinal action from Stanberry broadcast on KTTN FM 92.3.
Princeton started fast in its upset bid, as the #5 seed scored twice in the 1st inning, with Macey Lewis reaching via error, stealing second, advancing to third on a wild pitch, and scoring on a single by Faith Siemer. Grace Kelly reached third base on Siemer’s single and scored on a grounder to second by Emma Walkup.
In the top of the 3rd, Princeton doubled the lead on one swing of the bat, as Siemer launched a two-run homer over the left field fence, scoring Kelly and giving the Lady Tigers a 4-0 advantage.
Worth County’s comeback efforts began in the bottom of the 4th, as Autumn Cousatte and Kiera Hardy scored on a Ruckman double. The top of the 5th inning proved to be an important one, as Princeton seemed to have a 6-2 lead locked in, as Hannah Meighen rocketed a ball into the right-center field gap to make the score 5-2. However, Meighen was thrown out at second before Riley Clark touched home plate, as the final out of the inning kept the score at 5-2.
In the bottom of the 5th, Princeton’s defense cracked a bit, as two errors gave Worth County opportunity. Kambree Briner scored on an infield error, with a passed ball scoring Kristen Tracy, leaving the score at 5-4, with that advantage holding until the bottom of the 7th.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Ruckman picked up her third and fourth RBI’s of the contest to give Worth County the dramatic victory. Tom Johnson had the KTTN call:
Princeton ends the year, its first in the newly reconstituted Grand River Conference West, with a mark of 16-8, while Worth County, moving into a Tuesday night date with Platte Valley for the District 8 championship, moves to 17-4.
