Liberty Union hangs on against Miami East and punches ticket to state tournament

CENTERVILLE – The Liberty Union softball team held a 9-1 advantage and looked to be cruising in their Division III regional final game against Casstown Miami East on Friday.

However, things got a little tense when Miami East scored six runs in the top of the seventh inning, but the Lions were able to hold on for a 9-7 victory at Centerville High School and punch their ticket to state final four.

Liberty Union, which has won 11 consecutive games, improved to 22-6 and will face Oak Harbor in a state semifinal game at 3 p.m. Thursday at Firestone Stadium in Akron. Friday’s win was the Lions’ first regional title since 2011 and second all-time.

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Liberty Union dodged several bullets in the game as Miami East loaded the bases in the first inning and only got one run, and also had the bases load two more times, but the Lions were able to escape both times without allowing a run. In all, Miami East stranded 13 base runners.

Liberty Union, on the other hand, was able to string hits together, especially in the first and second innings where they plated three runs in the bottom of the first inning and four more in the second to take a 7-1 lead. They added two more runs in the fourth and were on the cusp of ending it by run rule before Miami East scored its six runs in the seventh.

Liberty Union finished with 10 hits and was led by multiple players with two hits each. Alexis McCoy had two hits, including a home run, two RBIs and two runs. Suzie Shultz went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, while Payton Hochradel and Haeden Brunty contributed two hits and scored two runs each. Addi Osterman and Macie Wollenberg chipped in one hit each.

Shultz picked up the win in the circle. She went the distance, giving up nine hits, seven runs, only four were earned and seven strikeouts.