Photo by Nick Henthorn Barnesville’s Ella Betts throws a pitch against the Wheeling Central Maroon Knights on Tuesday during the teams’ OVAC semifinal matchup at the I-470 J.B. Chambers Sports Complex.

WHEELING — The Barnesville Shamrocks put the tying run on first base in the top of the seventh inning Tuesday, but couldn’t quite complete the comeback in the OVAC softball semifinals at the I-470 J.B. Chambers Sports Complex against the Wheeling Central Maroon Knights, the No. 2 Knights topping the No. 3 Shamrocks 6-4.

Wheeling Central jumped out to a 4-0 lead after five innings, but Barnesville plated four of their own to tie things 4-4 heading into the bottom of the sixth.

The Maroon Knights struck back with two more to lead 6-4 going into the seventh, and though the Shamrocks came close to prolonging the contest, they fell a run short.

“We’re not going to give up too easy,” Wheeling Central head coach Buck Davidson said. “We’re going to keep fighting until the last out, and that’s what you’ve got to do, especially in these close games.”

Central scored in bunches off of costly Barnesville miscues. The Knights plated two runs after a throwing error on a would-be sacrifice bunt in the third, and two more on a ball off an outfielder’s glove in the fifth.

Barnesville seemed to have their best chance to get back into it in the sixth inning, with the top of their order coming up, and get back into it they did.

Maddy Schaffer ripped a double to start the inning, Kylee Powell followed up with a single and Ellie Thompson drove them both in with a double to the wall, advancing to third on a late throw home.

With one out, Payton Dudzik kept things moving with an RBI double of her own, and an error at first base on a bunt scored Dudzik and tied the game 4-4.

“It was right there in our 2-3-4 spot, we got a bunt laid down and they had an error and I think it just snowballed,” Barnesville head coach Kelley Hanlon said. “We started hitting towards the end of the game and we tied it up.”

With the game knotted late, it was Wheeling Central’s turn to make some plays. Bella Rine blasted a solo home run deep over the left field fence to retake the lead for Central, and Knights starting pitcher Josie Frizzell helped her own cause with an RBI double later in the inning to lead 6-4.

Frizzell seemed determined to end things quickly coming back out into the circle for the top of the seventh, striking out her first two batters, one swinging and one looking, but Powell popped another single to bring the tying run up to the plate, Ellie Thompson.

A sharp grounder by Thompson ate up Central’s third baseman, and the intensity was rising with the tying run aboard. But a groundout put an end to the two-out rally, and the game.

Frizzell, Central’s ace and an all-stater, struck out 11, but the Shamrocks were not helpless at the dish, securing eight hits and plating four runs.

“She did well,” Davidson said of Frizzell. “Not as good as she’s done at other times, but that’s a credit to Barnesville. Thes second time we faced them, the second time they faced her, they did a great job of hitting the ball.

“We just need to do a better job of catching some of those balls in the outfield then it’s not as close as what it was. But we proved that we can win a close ballgame when Josie isn’t necessarily doing her best. That’s a lot of confidence for our girls.”

It was the Shamrocks’ second effort against Frizzell.

“Compared to when we played them before, we did a lot better,” Hanlon said. “We struck out 16 times before. I don’t know what happened to us when we played them here last time, but I thought we played a lot better today. We had them on the ropes until the end.”

Wheeling Central will play Martins Ferry in the OVAC Class 3A championship game. Ferry defeated Fort Frye in the game after Central v. Barnesville.

“We’re really excited,” Davidson said. “No matter who we face next game, whether it’s Martins Ferry or Fort Frye, hopefully we’ll give them a good game. We’ve just got to keep playing hard and playing good defense.”