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St. Marys headed to state for 1st time since 2012

St. Marys shortstop Breanna Price, pictured here making an assist, scored the game-winning run in the Blue Devils’ 2-1 victory in eight innings on Thursday against Wheeling Central in the Class A, Region I best-of-three series. St. Marys advanced to the state tournament for the second time in school history. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

BELMONT — Wheeling Central pushed across a run in the sixth inning here Thursday evening in game two of the Class A, Region I best-of-three series, but host St. Marys scored an unearned run to punch its ticket to the state tournament for the second time in school history after outlasting the Maroon Knights, 2-1, in eight innings.

Josie Frizzell, who went 7 2-3 innings and allowed three hits, one earned run with four walks and 10 strikeouts, was the hard-luck loser.

The 18-8 Blue Devils of head coach Lacy Riggs, who last made the state field in 2012 and will take on Petersburg at 9:45 a.m. Wednesday, had the top of the order up in the eighth.

Breanna Price started it with a bunt single, but Zoey Winland lined out to second. Cali Masters, who fired the final two frames and allowed two hits with six punchourts to earn the mound triumph in relief of Ella Smith, stepped to the dish and crushed a shot to center field. Peyton Smith, though, raced back to the fence and managed to rob Masters of a walk-off home run. However, momentum carried her over the fence and Price was placed at third. Following an intentional walk to the cleanup batter Smith, Layne Kincaid put down a bunt. On the play, Central third baseman Taylor Knollinger’s throw was just a bit high and the ball went off the webbing of first baseman Aspyn Bowman’s glove as the Blue Devils celebrated.

“I knew it was a catch,” admitted coach Riggs, who watched Knollinger (3 for 4) have as many hits as her entire team. “That was an awesome play. She really made a great play there. When she took the ball out of the field, we get two bases. That could’ve been a momentum stopper. It was a great play.”

St. Marys head coach Lacy Riggs sends Zoey Winland home in the bottom of the first during the Blue Devils’ eventual 2-1 victory in eight innings on Thursday against Wheeling Central in the Class A, Region I best-of-three series. St. Marys advanced to the state tournament for the second time in school history. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

Winland scored the first run of the affair in the first when she walked, stole second and crossed on Masters’ run-scoring single to center.

No. 9 hitter Ella Bullman drew a one-out walk in the third and stole second, but was left stranded.

In the fourth, Frizzell allowed a double to Masters and then walked Smith, but got out of the jam thanks to striking out Kincaid, Ava Childers and Ava Giovinazzo.

Smith, who allowed four hits, an earned run with one walk and four strikeouts, stranded Central runners on second and third to open the game.

Jensen Rine had a one-out single in the third, but was left stranded. Smith then retired nine straight before Knollinger had her second hit with a bloop single in the sixth. Although she was erased for the second out when Frizzell hit into a fielder’s choice, cleanup hitter Ashlee Baker delivered an RBI three-bagger to left-center that plated courtesy runner Mia DiBias.

“We need to do the small things like get the bunt down. We don’t get the bunt down and don’t move runners up and it’s hard against a team like this when you don’t do the little things right,” said Central skipper Buck Davidson, who watched Bowman and Knollinger record one-out singles in the seventh and eighth, respectively.

Davidson’s squad ended the campaign at 17-6.

“She (Smith) caught the ball and the ball pulled her out of play so it’s a dead ball in the outfield,” Davidson added. “The umpire said she gets two bases instead of one.

“I’m really happy. I got a bunch of young kids. I started four freshmen today and one of the was my pitcher. Hopefully, it will be the same two teams next year, same spot.”

Coach Riggs is looking forward to playing Petersburg next week and is pumped for the future of the program.

“It’s awesome. It’s great. We got a great team,” added an emotional Riggs. “We struggled a little bit tonight. I’m ready and excited. They’re ready and excited. We didn’t give up and we’ve struggled with that some this season.

“We battled. We fought and we put something together and we made it happen. We’ll have a week to practice and get some confidence with the bats. We’ve got a great group and we’re young. We’re primarily freshmen and sophomores.”

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com

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