By Fred Kroner
The St. Joseph Panthers opened IESA regional tournament play with back-to-back victories to advance into the championship game at home.
The Panthers shut out Paxton-Buckley-Loda 15-0 in the quarterfinals on Wednesday (Sept. 8).
Amelia Huckstat yielded one hit in three innings while striking out nine batters. Timera Blackburn-Kelly pitched the final inning and fanned three hitters.
Sami Kelso belted a third-inning grand slam as one of her two hits. She knocked in five runs and also stole three bases.
Teammates with at least two hits were Huckstat, Hayden Dahl and Brynn Ikemire. Dahl was 3-for-3.
On Saturday (Sept. 11), the Panthers built a 5-0 lead over LeRoy and held on for a 5-3 triumph.
LeRoy scored all of its runs in the final inning.
Blackburn-Kelly pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing four hits while striking out 10 batters. She needed last-out help from Huckstat, who had one strikeout.
McKenzie Atwood’s first-inning RBI lifted the Panthers into a lead they never lost.
Dahl and Ikemire each ripped two hits. Katie Ericksen belted a triple and had two RBI. Blackburn-Kelly scored two runs.
St. Joseph (13-8) saw its season come to an end on Tuesday (Sept. 14) in the regional championship game, with a 6-1 loss to Tri-Valley.
Blackburn-Kelly led off the game with the lone hit the Panthers would manage. She also scored a run to lift her team into a 1-0 lead with Adalyn Jannusch driving in the run.
Blackburn-Kelly pitched one inning and took the loss. She registered one strikeout. Huckstat pitched the final five innings, fanning three hitters.
