(6-5-21) Fairview (27-1) turned a slow start into a shoot-out as they came back from a 4-1 deficit to beat Wheelersburg (26-1) 10-8 in the OHSAA Softball D III State semifinal game in Akron. They will play South Range who beat Johnstown 5-1 tomorrow at 4 PM.
Pitching took a back seat to hitting in the Apaches win as they had 15 hits, All-Star Anna Ankney, who seems to be on a magical run, led the way with a 2nd inning grand slam and give her team their first the lead 5-4…she ended the day going 2 for 3, an intentional walk, 5 RBIs and scored 2 runs.
How good was Fairview’s 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th hitters? They had 11 of the 15 hits, scored 8 of the 10 runs and added 4 RBIs…impressive.
8th place hitter Alyssa Merritt had a perfect day at the plate going 4-4, including a double, 3 RBIs and scored 2 runs, while the 9th place hitter Clair Shininger went 2 for 4,, a triple, a RBI and scored 2 runs. Allison Rhodes the 6th hitter went 3 for 4 with a double and scored 3 times and Paige Ricicia went 2 for 4 and scored a run.
Boo Sturgill led Wheelersburg in hitting going 2 for 4, with a 2 run homer and 3 RBIs.
Paige Ricicia got the complete game win for Fairview allowing 8 runs ( 4 earned) on 6 hits, walked 3 and struck out 2…she gave up 2 home runs. One spot that hurt the Apaches was the 5 errors they committed.
AndiJo Howard took the loss for Wheelersburg in her 6 innings of pitching she gave up 10 runs (all earned) and 15 hits, walking one and striking out 2.
Stateline Sports Network 