BARNESVILLE — One big inning.

That’s all it took for Barnesville to take control of its Ohio Division III sectional softball opener Monday evening at Memorial Park.

The Shamrocks scored five times in the third and went on to double up Buckeye Local — 8-4 — to secure a spot in Wednesday’s sectional title game opposite Meadowbrook in Byesville.

“We’re looking forward to it,” Barnesville head coach Leslie Skinner said of the showdown against the Colts. “We like our chances.

“We think we have a good chance if we put the ball in play like we did (Monday) and are patient at the plate.”

For the second time this season, the Shamrocks used a big inning to put away the Panthers. Earlier this spring, a six-run frame provided the momentum for a 6-5 triumph. Monday’s explosion rallied Barnesville from a 3-1 deficit.

“We had some clutch hitting with runners on,” Skinner noted. “And, most of the time, we were patient at the plate.

“We had a couple of girls get antsy and go up there and go after the first pitch and it didn’t work out. But when we were patient and saw the ball well, we put it in play and that was good.”

Barnesville (15-12) sent 10 batters to the plate in the third, with only two recording hits. The big blow came off the bat of Jaiden Butler, whose two-out double plated a pair. two runs came home via bases-loaded walks and another came in on an RBI single by Cayleigh Reynolds.

Butler’s hit was symbolic of a nice day by the bottom of the Barnesville order.

“We’ve been struggling at the bottom of the lineup,” Skinner said. “But we’ve moved some things around. And, like I said, they see the ball pretty well and do a good job.”

The Shamrocks were coming off a 3-0 loss against Buckeye Trail on Saturday — the first time they were blanked all season.

“It was good to see us come back and score eight runs after that,” Skinner said.

The Panthers got on the board first, however, when MaKayla Meeks’ ground out in the second scored Kya DeMeter.

After Barnesville tied the game in the bottom of the second on an RBI hit by Bailey Leach, Buckeye Local came back with another strong inning in the third.

There, with one out, Jordyn Spencer reached on an error. Then, with two gone, Ashley Burkett reached on an infield single. DeMeter next tripled to center clearing the bases and making the score 3-1.

But from there, Barnesville starter Madison Detling was staunch. She only allowed one run the rest of the way and took advantage of a pair of insurance runs her teammates provided in the sixth.

“That’s kind of been the story of our season,” first-year Buckeye Local head coach head coach Drew Case said. “We couldn’t put together one big inning and we gave up one big inning.

“We have a young team. Even though we have seven seniors, we play three freshmen and two sophomores regularly.

“I tell the girls that, even though we’ve only won two games (2-20) we’ve played better than that. We’re well on our way to being a program that teams will have to pay attention to. I really believe that.”

The Panthers welcome Edison today for Senior Day.