THE PLAINS — Fending off a late comeback effort from Fairfield Union, Athens’ softball took its first step towards potential glory in the postseason on Wednesday afternoon with a 7-5 defeat over the Falcons in the Sectional final at home. The Bulldogs would collect 12 hits on the afternoon to help move on the the district phase of the tournament at Ohio University.
Kayla Hammonds led the charge at the plate for Athens with a perfect 4-4 day at the plate, driving in a pair of runs while also scoring two. Kendra Hammonds grabbed two RBIs on two hits, scoring a run and drawing a walk in the process. Fern Sigman picked up a pair of RBIs on two hits while Ellie Beck-Aden collected a pair of hits while scoring two runs.
Rylee Toadvine and Khyla Brannon also grabbed a hit and a run scored in the sectional victory.
In the circle, Sigman picked up the win after tossing all seven innings, allowing four earned runs on nine hits, striking out four while walking one.
For Fairfield Union, Adelyn Wolfe highlighted the effort with a 3-4 day at the plate, driving in and scoring two runs. Taylor Smeck and Ella Harmon also grabbed two hits while Maddi Lanning drove in two runs on one hit.
Rachel Patterson tossed all six innings in the circle for the Falcons, allowing six earned runs on 12 hits, striking out three and allowing one walk.
After running into a bit of trouble in the opening frame with a couple of Falcons’ runners reaching base, Athens responded in quick fashion to take control early in the matchup.
Following a leadoff double from Beck-Aden in the bottom of the frame, Kayla Hammonds stepped up and ripped a two-run shot over the left field fence to give Athens a 2-0 advantage before recording an out. A few batters later, Sigman singled in Toadvine to build up a three-run cushion.
Fairfield Union cut the lead down to one in the third inning with a two-run home run from Lanning. After that home run, 14 of the next 15 batters from each side went down as Athens carried the one-run lead into the bottom of the fifth.
In that frame, consecutive singles from Beck-Aden and Hammonds brought in the team’s first insurance run. One batter later, Kendra Hammonds drilled a two-run shot herself to open up a 6-2 lead. The final run of the inning for Athens came on an RBI double from Sigman that would score Brannon.
After an error from the Bulldogs allowed one run to come in for the Falcons in the sixth to cut the lead to just four, Fairfield Union did all it could to keep its season alive. A two-run home run from Wolfe in the top of the seventh made it a 7-5 game before the Falcons were able to get one more runner on base with just one out.
With pressure at its highest, Sigman settled in and was able to get the final two outs of the ball game, securing the sectional championship for Athens.
Moving on to the district semifinals, Athens is set to take on No. 1 seeded Sheridan on May 14 at Ohio University Softball Field on OU’s campus with a 4 p.m. first pitch set.
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