The Clinton Prairie Gophers claimed their second straight softball Sectional Championship, beating Clinton Central 8-2 Friday night.
“This is a group of girls that does well under pressure,” Clinton Prairie softball coach Jamie Frost said. “They handled it really well. The higher the pressure of the game is, the better they play. They thrive in that environment.”
It was a week full of pressure, as the Gophers had to play three games to claim the Sectional trophy.
The Gophers defeated Frontier early in the week. They reached the Sectional Championship by defeating Carroll in the semifinals, a team that beat them in the Hoosier Heartland Conference Tournament.
“It was a gigantic hype game against Carroll,” Frost said. “They’re a fantastic team, they average eight runs a game. We had to stick to our defense and keep the discipline at the plate.”
The Gophers took down Carroll 8-4 to advance.
In the Sectional Championship, Clinton Prairie trailed early after an RBI single by Clinton Central’s Emily Long. In the second inning, the Gophers used some small ball to tie the game at one.
“We came in a little bit on our heels after celebrating a big win yesterday,” Frost said. “That early run opened our eyes a little bit.”
The breakout for Clinton Prairie came in the fourth, when the Gophers scored four runs to take a 5-1 lead.
Sadie Weliver delivered in the circle for the Gophers. She allowed just two base runners between the second and sixth innings.
“I knew that Central was going to hit the ball, “Weliver said. “They hit the ball more than they strikeout, so just trusting my defense and knowing that they had my back really helped me persevere through the rest of the game.”
Weliver joined Zelda Wampler as the only Gophers with multiple hits and tied Harrison Livengood for the most RBIs in the game with two.
The Gophers held on the rest of the way to win 8-2.
Clinton Prairie advances to Regionals and will play Riverton Parke for the second straight year. Riverton Parke defeated the Gophers 12-2 in last year’s Regional final.
This year’s Regional Championship will be played at Clinton Prairie, the game will start at 6:30 p.m., and will be available to listen to on WILO.
