Lancers shut down Generals to advance to regional final

PICKERINGTON - Courtney Vierstra continued her dominance in the circle Thursday.

The junior pitcher tossed a one-hitter with 12 strikeouts and no walks in Lakewood's 7-0 win over Sheridan in the Division II regional semifinals at Pickerington Central High School.

Veirstra allowed two runners, Maddy Trowbridge reached on a one-out error in the first inning and Spencer Snider hit a one-out single in the sixth. After Trowbridge reached, she retired 15 consecutive Generals (20-9).

"She's as advertised," Sheridan coach Troy Wolfe said. "They're a quality ball team. They hit and field, too."

Lakewood (26-0) advances to play Maysville for the regional title at noon Saturday. The two faced off in a regional semifinal last year, with the Lancers earning a 4-1 victory.

Lakewood coach Criss Nadolson expects another close contest.

"They have a good pitcher (Madison Riggle). She mixes up her pitches well so we're hoping to get some hits against her," he said. "It was a great game last year, and I expect it to be a 2-0, 2-1 type of game."

The offense provided Vierstra support early. She singled to lead off the second and was replaced by courtesy runner Katie Hallam. Sheridan pitcher Liv Johnson followed with a popout and a strikeout, but Olivia Martin drove a pitch deep to left field to plate Hallam for the game's first run.

The Lancers broke the game open with clutch two-out hitting in a five-run third. Brenna Brownfield was hit by a pitch with two outs to start the rally, and Kristin Peacock doubled after Sheridan center fielder Amanda Sturgeon just missed the catch on a diving attempt.

Vierstra then ripped a two-run single to left field, and after Megan Davis reached on an error, Brayanna Wilson belted a three-run homer for a 6-0 advantage.

Martin capped the scoring with a solo blast in the sixth.

"Sheridan held us down early and played a nice game," Nadolson said. "Martin, our eight hitter, had three hits, and Wilson hit that home run. We hit well throughout the lineup. Even with two outs, our team is looking to generate offense."

Johnson allowed nine hits to go with four strikeouts and no walks in a complete game loss, and the Generals had three errors.

She is one of several starters returning for Sheridan, which sees Jamie Fraley, Amanda Plaisted and Kaytlynn Sullivan graduate.

"For our seniors, it stinks, but they started this thing," Wolfe said. "I'm proud of what we accomplished. We have a taste of this now, and we need to focus on getting better so we can be on the winning side."

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