DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
WARSAW – Tatum Harper knocked in two runs with a home run and again with a double to provide enough offense for the Lapel Bulldogs to advance to Saturday’s semi-state championship game by downing the South Adams Starfires 5-2.
The rain that slowly crept into Indiana throughout the day prevented the Bulldogs from reaching the State Finals Saturday, as the championship game had to be postponed to Monday, but Lapel will eventually take on Hebron for an opportunity to take on the juggernaut that is Cascade in next week’s 2A State Championship Game.
It took just nine pitches for Lapel to take the lead in the top of the first. Krystin Davis fouled off several pitches before lining a single into left field. Two pitches later, Harper knocked one into the rain clouds that eventually came down on the other side of the fence in right center field.
Starfire pitcher Addie Baker settled down from there, getting out of the inning and turning it over to the Starfire bats.
Lapel struggled fielding the bunts of the Starfires and both Shea Alberson and Bekah Patterson reached in the bottom of the first, but they did not advance.
Two walks issued by Baker in the top of the second eventually brought Harper up for her second at-bat and she drove in both runs with a double to left to put Lapel up 4-0.
From there, Addie Baker settled down, holding the Bulldogs to just one more run on five hits in the remaining five innings. She finished the game with six strikeouts.
The Starfires got runners on with hits in the second and third innings and tried to bunt them over and knock them in, but they were unsuccessful. Starter Karlie Jannings then worked two perfect innings to keep the Stars off the board in the fourth and the fifth innings.
After Baker stranded a pair of runners in the top of the sixth inning, the Starfires came to bat and got a leadoff bunt single from Shea Alberson in the bottom of the inning.
After Bekah Patterson worked a walk, Lapel made a switch at pitcher, bringing in freshman Ava Zdanowski. She got off to a rocky start, giving away bases to the two baserunners with a wild pitch while facing the intimidating Sofia Schwartz at the plate.
Schwartz put the Stars on the board with a fly ball to center, scoring Alberson, and Patterson scampered home on another wild throw by Zdanowski to bring the Stars within three at 5-2. South Adams could not muster another hit after that, however, and the season came to an end with an uneventful top of the seventh.
In the end, the Starfires only hit one true single, with three of the four base hits coming off the bunt. Jannings and Zdanowski teamed up to strike out seven Starfires.
The loss set the final 2024 season tally for the Starfires at 26 wins and five losses. Seniors Macy Pries, Gracy Bixler, Shea Alberson and Sofia Schwartz finished their careers with an outstanding record, full of accomplishments and honors.
Coach Jessie O’Dell also summed up his thoughts on his seniors with a tweet late Saturday.
