Glenwood strands 12 in sectional softball loss to Mount Zion

CHATHAM — The Chatham Glenwood softball team did nearly everything it needed to do on offense.

The only thing standing between the Titans and a sectional championship was the timely hit.

Glenwood pounded out 12 hits but left 12 runners on base in a 6-3 loss to Mount Zion in the Class 3A Chatham Glenwood Sectional softball championship on Friday.

"We made some mistakes defensively, little things, that they took advantage of but it wasn't like we came out and just laid an egg," Glenwood softball coach Vondel Edgar said. "We just couldn't get that extra-base hit or that bloop single where you could score a couple of runs. That's part of the game. We had great at-bats, (Mount Zion pitcher Dakota Harrison) did a great job of changing speeds and changing sides of the plate but I thought our kids competed really well."

Mount Zion will face the Highland Sectional winner, either Charleston or Waterloo, in the Decatur Supersectional on Monday at 4:30 p.m. at Millikin University. The Braves (32-5) avenged a 13-3 loss to Glenwood in the 2022 Class 3A Mount Zion Sectional semifinals.

Glenwood (29-2-1) struck for two runs in the top of the first inning but it could’ve been a bigger lead. Cassandra Feld and Kate Feld had back-to-back RBI singles to give Glenwood a 2-0 edge. With runners at first and second and one out, Harrison struck out Mollie Cascio then got Jenna Hazard to ground into an inning-ending fielder's choice.

In the second inning, Glenwood again had runners at first and second but Claire Black grounded into an out to end the threat. After Cassandra Feld led off the top of the third with a single to left, Harrison struck out Kate Feld, got Cascio to hit into a fielder's choice then struck out Hazard.

Glenwood's offense got back into the scoring column in the fourth after Mount Zion rallied for four runs. Ryleigh Kiel reached on a fielder's choice for the second out, Taryn Griffith walked and Black singled in Kiel to pull the Titans within 4-3. Glenwood had the bases loaded after Cassandra Feld reached on an error but Harrison coaxed a ground ball back to herself in the circle from Kate Feld to end the inning.

In the seventh with Glenwood trailing by three, Cascio, Hazard and Makinzie McCaskell all reached to give the Titans bases loaded with two outs but Harrison ended the game when she got Sophia Geranios to hit back up the middle where Harrison fielded the ball and threw to first baseman Kayla Schnippel for the final out.

Edgar knows his team's offense was good enough to consistently give the team multiple chances to score.

"Just as easily, somebody barrels one up and we score … three or four in an inning and that just changes the game but tonight that just wasn't it," Edgar said. "I’m not disappointed in our effort.

"As a coach, when you get in the games where it's win or go home, you just want to play at the top of their ability as a group and I thought (Mount Zion) got us on our heels just for a minute there but we came back. If you end the game with bases loaded and you’ve got a shot, all it takes is one barrel and we’re tied. I’ll take that."

Through two innings, the Braves had sent six hitters to the batter's box and Glenwood pitcher Irie Lohrenz and the Titans’ defense sent them all back to the dugout defeated. But with its bottom of the lineup in the third inning, Mount Zion ended its frustrations.

Molly Besser led off with a double to left and Jolie Shafer reached via a Glenwood error on her sacrifice bunt attempt to score Besser. With one out, Kennedy Highley sent a ball over the fence in left-center field for a two-run home run and a 3-2 lead. Two batters later, Harrison smacked a solo home run to put Mount Zion up 4-2.

"The beauty of this year's group is not one part of the lineup has had to carry us the entire year," Mount Zion coach Greg Blakey said. "The low part of our lineup did a great job today (and) that's the mark of a good team when you get different parts of your lineup doing good things for your group."

After Glenwood picked up a run in the top of the fourth, Mount Zion quickly got it back thanks to aggressive baserunning. Anna Cox doubled with one out, moved to third on Besser's single to left and as Besser was hung up between first and second to draw the attention of the Glenwood defense, Cox scored as Mount Zion regained its two-run lead.

"They are a good program. They’re not going to roll over and die for you," Blakey said. "That (fifth) run was huge for us."

Addison Rotz hit a solo homer in the fifth inning to give Mount Zion a 6-3 lead.

Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, [email protected], Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.