FRANKTON — One day removed from a complete game win against Elwood, senior Audrey Ricker got the ball again to start against Frankton. It may not have been in the team plans for her to pitch another seven innings Thursday, but when she is on her game, it is tough to take the ball away from her.
Ricker escaped numerous jams against the Eagles, spinning a complete game six-hit shutout, and senior first baseman Jade Mollenkopf broke out of a mini-slump with two run-scoring doubles, as Pendleton Heights beat the Eagles 7-0 in semifinal action of the Madison County tournament.
The Arabians will play Madison-Grant, 5-3 winners at Lapel, in the championship game at noon Saturday at Pendleton Heights.
Pendleton Heights (6-1) scored the first run of the game on an error in the second inning before adding a pair in the third off starter Kate Buis.
Leading 1-0 with one out, sophomore Jayden Brown and senior Ashley King reached on infield singles. After Brown and King pulled off a double-steal, Kelsey Sturgeon popped up a bunt attempt, nearly starting a double play, but Brown scampered back to third.
Brown injured her shoulder and was replaced by sophomore Chloe Closser, who scored on a wild pitch. Mollenkopf then lined a double into the left-center gap for a 3-0 Arabian lead.
After the game, it was revealed Brown suffered a dislocated shoulder and will be out indefinitely.
The score remained 3-0 until sophomore Amanda White doubled in a run in the seventh, and the Arabians finished the day with three more in the seventh, capped by Mollenkopf’s second double of the outing and another RBI single by White.
Mollenkopf, who was 0-5 with two strikeouts the last two games, said her double off Buis, one of the best pitchers in the area, was a boost to her confidence.
“My confidence was a little low,” she said. “I think I definitely gained it back, the whole team pulled through today.”
Ricker, meanwhile, battled through jam after jam. She walked three and allowed six hits, but managed to leave 11 Eagle runners on base to preserve the shutout.
“She’s a gamer,” head coach Rob Davis said. “She wanted the ball. She wasn’t going seven innings (again), but we got into the fifth and we were up a couple runs. She hits her spots.”
The loss of Brown, one of the team sparkplugs and the starting centerfielder, put a serious damper on the win for Davis and the Arabians.
“It was a costly win,” Davis said. “It was the same shoulder she hurt during basketball season, so we’ll see how long she’s out. We’re going to miss her, but it’s next man up.”
