By Steve Heath | The Times-Post
[email protected]
FORTVILLE — An outstanding season came to an end too early for the Pendleton Heights softball team on Thursday.
In the Class 4A Softball Sectional 9 title game at Mt. Vernon High School, the Arabians lost 2-1 in nine innings to the host.
It was a classic pitcher’s duel between Pendleton Heights junior Jordan Benefiel and Mt. Vernon sophomore Karlee Franklin.
There were only five hits the game, four by Pendleton Heights, but they had only two after the first inning. Benefiel finished with 17 strikeouts. Franklin had a stretch, after the two first-inning hits, of retiring 17 of 18 Arabians.
In the ninth inning, after Benefiel walked Riley Hasseld, the Marauders’ Anelise Worden hit a sacrifice bunt to move Hasseld to second. Sydnee Perry was intentionally walked, but when Haley Kissee was walked, unintentionally, it loaded the bases.
Samantha Bennett’s fly out to left field enabled Hasseld to tag up and score from third base with the go-ahead run.
In the bottom of the ninth, Franklin got out of a two-on, two-out jam with her 12th strikeout of the game.
The Arabians forced extra innings when Amanda White hit a home run to right-center field with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning. It tied the game 1-1.
Mt. Vernon had taken a 1-0 lead in the third when Chloee Yocum hit a home run. It was the Marauders only hit of the game.
Kieli Ryan had two of Pendleton Heights’ four hits.
In the first, with one out, Ally Hall hit a single. Ryan hit a double off the top of the right field fence. Unfortunately for the Arabians, it bounced back into play instead of over the fence. Franklin struck out the next two hitters to end the inning.
Ryan had a two-out single in the sixth inning.
Pendleton Heights came in ranked No. 4 in the state. It advanced to the title game with a 9-1 victory against Anderson on Tuesday.
The Arabians were also fresh off a regular-season win over No. 1 Lake Central and were the defending sectional champions, beating Mt. Vernon 3-1 last year.
The teams met in the regular season, too, but neither Benefiel, nor Franklin pitched. Pendleton Heights won that contest, 12-0, on May 8, also at Mt. Vernon.
The Arabians finished the season with a record of 23-4.