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Fourth-seeded Magnolia upsets Linsly in Class 3A

WHEELING — Before her fourth-seeded Magnolia team took the field against top-seeded Linsly in an OVAC softball semifinal Tuesday night, Blue Eagles’ coach Angela Johnson told her team that the seeds meant nothing and that her girls should just, “go out and do their thing and get the job done.”

And while Magnolia struggled to get anything going through four innings, it came to life over the final three frames and just as their coach had asked, got the job done.

Ashley Tharp fanned eight without issuing a walk, and made an amazing catch to help secure the lead in the sixth inning, while Ashlyn Piekarski’s one-out, two-run single in the top of the seventh proved to be the game-winner as Magnolia rallied for a thrilling 5-4 victory over the Cadets in a Class AAA semifinal on Ben’s Field at the J.B. Chamber’s I-470 Sports Complex.

The victory moves the Blue Eagles to 15-4 on the season and sends them into the 3A championship game that will be played either Friday night or Saturday morning. Their opponent will be the survivor of tonight’s other semifinal between Crestview and Monroe Central.

While Coach Darryl Crews’ Cadets (14-6) left three runners in scoring position and had another thrown out at third over the initial three innings Linsly did manage to grab a quick 2-0 lead.

With two down in the top of the first Sophia Recrosio reached on an infield single and scored when senior Sarah Heller ripped a RBI double into the right-center field gap for a 1-0 advantage.

Linsly had a shot to blow the game wide open in the third with Maddy Menendez reaching on a one-out single then stealing second and third before scoring on Karena Recrosio’s base-hit to make it 2-0. Recrosio’s sister Sophia then reached on a bunt single with the duo ending up at second and third with one out and the Cadets No. 4 and 5 hitters due up.

Tharp, however, settled in and recorded back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat.

The Blue Eagles cut the deficit in half in the fifth when Sydney Scott reached on a one-out fielder’s choice and No. 9 hitter Natalie Fletcher reached when the centerfielder could not come up the great diving play to put two runners on. Paige Brill then drilled a run-scoring single up the middle to make it a 2-1 game.

Magnolia got things going again in the sixth with Ashley Kelly collecting a lead-off single and Pikarski being hit by a pitch. Lindsay Whiteman’s sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third with one away.

Designated player Shayna White then reached on an error allowing one run to score and moved to second as another run scoring on another Linsly miscue on the play as the Eagles moved ahead 3-2.

Johnson’s squad put up a pair of much needed insurance runs in the seventh with a pair of singles, a fielder’s choice and Pikarski’s two-run single to left that put Magnolia up by a 5-2 margin.

Linsly, however, did not go away easy in the home-half of the seventh. Following a pair of quick outs Menendez reached on an error and scored on Karena Recrosio’s triple to right-center. Sophia Recrosio then followed with her fourth hit of the day, plating her sister and making it a 5-4 count before Tharp got Heller to pop out to second to end the contest.

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get much going early on, but we did a good job adjusting to things and we had some girls make some big plays in the field as well,” Johnson said. “And no question, we got some timely, big hits.

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