SEYMOUR – Floyd Central continued its mastery of Bedford North Lawrence, rolling to a 16-2, mercy-rule victory in the first semifinal of the Class 4A sectional at Seymour on Monday afternoon.
The No.7 Highlanders (24-4) conquered the Stars for the sixth straight meeting while advancing to the finale. Floyd, which also smacked BNL 12-1 during the regular-season clash at Floyd on April 22, is the two-time defending sectional champion.
Floyd jumped on BNL quickly with four runs in the first and five more in the second. The Highlanders pounded four extra-base hits in the first, with a run-scoring triple by Addy Ware and RBI doubles by Elise Coleman and Nora Koehler. Coleman followed with a bases-loaded, base-clearing double in the second and Aubrey Duckworth added a two-run double.
The Stars (20-12) could not match that overall firepower. BNL’s only runs came on solo bombs from Ava Ratliff (in the first) and Bella Warren (in the second).
”They put ball in play and hit it hard,” BNL coach Brad Gilbert. “They were strong through the zone and the ball jumped. We didn’t have an answer.
”We’ve had games like that where we only scored with home runs. We couldn’t manufacture any kind of runs. They’re a really good hitting teams. They pitch well and they’re fast. We had to play a perfect game and do things to take them out of their element. It didn’t happen.”
The Highlanders pulled away with a RBI double by Coleman in the third, then a six-run fourth as Breleigh Lockhart homered, Kiersten Fielder cranked a RBI double and Ware whacked a two-run triple.
Coleman and Ware made their Memorial Day performances quite memorable. Ware was 4-for-4 with four runs scored and 3 RBIs, while Coleman went 3-for-3 (all doubles) with 5 RBIs. The Highlanders battered three BNL hurlers for 14 hits, 10 for extra bases.
Ratliff, on her way to Auburn, capped her remarkable career with a state-record 69 home runs, plus 195 hits and 179 RBIs (to rank second in state history). Kendall Graves, a Butler recruit, became only the third player in BNL history with 50-plus hits in a season.
In the opening game, Seymour (16-8) cruised to a 9-1 victory over Jeffersonville (1-17), allowing only two hits while taking advantage of six errors by the Red Devils. The Owls will face New Albany (10-14) in the second semifinal on Tuesday. The championship game is set for Thursday.
