Southeast District Division II Championship
SB — No. 4 Logan Elm 2, No. 1 Sheridan 1
ATHENS — Staring at a goose egg on the scoreboard, Logan Elm had two runners in scoring position but was down to its final out and Lucy Caplinger was down to her final strike.
“I really felt a lot of pressure. I wasn’t trying to think too much … I was trying to keep it as simple as possible,” the freshman said.
And Caplinger came through with a hard ground ball to center that brought in Lynsay VanHoose with the tying run and Hannah Gooley with the what would be the winning run as the Braves knocked off top-seeded Sheridan 2-1 to claim a Southeast District championship.
“There was so much pressure,” Caplinger said. “I was almost on the verge of tears at one point. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is it. If I don’t get this, we might not be able to play again.’ And I really put it together.”
One of the people who knew Caplinger had it in her was pitcher Sadie Binkley. The sophomore said she told assistant coach Mandy Grambo that the person she thought could get a timely hit was Caplinger.
“I know she was mad from the last at-bat,” Binkley said of Caplinger getting caught looking at a third strike to end the fifth with two runners on. “I know she wanted a little makeup.
“I’m so proud of her, she did so good.”
Binkley was on her game in holding the top-seeded Generals to just two hits while issuing only three walks and striking out seven.
“At first it was my rise ball. My rise ball was moving, it was great,” Binkley said. “Then, all of a sudden, I went to throw one curve ball and that thing just cut. We just kept throwing them.”
She faced only five batters over the minimum during the seven innings.
The Generals got their run in the first inning.
A leadoff walk was followed by an error. LE almost got out of the inning unscathed with a strikeout and a fly ball to center. But freshman Hailey Mueller doubled to left to score Avery Mueller — Brooke Cadigan tried to follow her in and was tagged out to end the inning.
LE out-hit Sheridan 7-2 Friday with Caplinger getting two and Ryleigh Wolfe had two – including a triple.
Logan Elm (19-8) advances to a Division II regional semifinal Wednesday at Pickerington High School Central. That 2 p.m. game be against the winner of Saturday morning’s Central District title game between MSL Buckeye opponent Bloom-Carroll (17-11) and Jonathan Alder (20-4). They face each other at 11 a.m. at Pickerington.
