CHILLICOTHE - New Lexington coach Dave Ratliff and his staff entered the season with a plan.
Their
work and dedication is being rewarded, as the seventh-seeded Panthers
held off six seed Portsmouth West for a 3-2 victory in the Division III
district semifinal Wednesday at Chillicothe Unioto High School.
New Lex (8-13) will take on top seed Williamsport Westfall at 11 a.m. Saturday for the district final.
"When
we came in on day one, I knew we were capable of playing like this. The
last five or six games, we're playing the way we know how," Ratliff
said. "We have plenty of support, and coaches have been coaching since
the youth leagues. The girls are in the right frame of mind, and we're
peaking."
Another strong start aided the New Lex cause. Winning
pitcher Bailey Harris retired the Senators (10-11) in order to start the
game.
New Lex leadoff hitter Morgan Brown was hit by a pitch to
open the bottom half, and Harris followed with a single. After a wild
pitch allowed the runners to advance, Emily Robinson's sac fly scored
Brown. Courtesy runner Brittany Danielson moved up to third on the sac
fly and came home on a wild pitch for a 2-0 lead.
"It gave us
confidence," said Harris, who threw a three-hitter with six strikeouts
and three walks. "We came out in the right mindset. We haven't had this
the past few years, but it's exciting."
Harris worked around a
one-out double by Terra Butcher in the second. She retired six in a row
after that hit and 13 of 15 entering the seventh.
The Panthers
added an insurance run in the fourth. Allison Dickerson drew a one-out
walk, then Bailey Davisson roped a triple over the center fielder's head
to bring Dickerson home for a 3-0 lead.
"When we get a couple
runs early, and we're tough to beat," New Lex assistant coach Joe Brown
said. "The girls are playing with a lot of confidence."
Harris induced Kassidy Parr to fly out to end the game.
New Lex committed just one error and made the defensive plays needed to keep its season alive.
Panthers
assistant coach Jed Harris said building confidence and improving
fundamentals are among the reasons the Panthers have a chance for a
district title.
"We wanted the girls to believe in themselves," he
said. "We knew we were a work in progress so it wasn't about the wins.
We wanted the girls to learn from their mistakes and minimize them.
They've done that, scored runs and are having fun."
Coleman suffered the loss for the Senators, despite throwing a two-hitter with five strikeouts and two walks.