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Cassie Walsh helps herself, Serena past Newark in 1A softball sectional semifinal · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Cassie Walsh helps herself. Serena passed Newark and won a
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  softball sectional semifinal. Written by Brian Hoxy, this article is
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  being read by an automated voice brought to you by Everlett.
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  Many times, when a pitcher walks to the plate, someone
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  will shout out help yourself, Serena pitcher Cassie Walsh did
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  just that in the seventh inning of Wednesday's Class one
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  A Indian Creek Sectional softball semifinal against rival Newark. Walsh
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  blasted a two run home run to snap a tide game,
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  then retired the Norseman in order only the second one
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  two three half inning of the game in the bottom
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  of the inning to close out a wild ten to
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  eight victory in Shabona. It felt really good off the bat,
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  but a couple of other balls hit today were hit
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  pretty good and the wind kept them from going over.
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  So I was just running, Walsh said. Just as I
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  was rounding first, I looked out and saw it go.
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  I was just so excited. I've hit a few home
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  runs before, but this one is at the top of
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  the list by far, Walsh said, as she neared home plate,
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  surrounded by her teammates. She was only hoping for one thing.
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  Before they started slapping the top of her helmet in excitement.
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  I was thinking, just don't give me a concussion. I
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  still have to get three more outs, she said with
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  a smile. Serena fourteen to ten, advances to Friday's seven
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  pm championship game seven pm against Gardner South Wilmington. Newark
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  finishes the season at thirteen sixteen, three of those losses
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  to Serena. Serena won both regular season Little Ten Conference games,
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  with the teams combining for thirty six runs on fifty
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  seven hits. That was a great battle from beginning to end.
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  Serena coach Katie Huss said, we'd score, they'd score, we'd score,
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  they'd score. We talked before the game about how this
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  would probably be a game where no lead would be safe.
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  Both teams can really hit the ball. Serena scored a
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  run in the first as Brindley Glade walked to lead
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  off the game and came around to score on a
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  pair of wild pitches. Newark played in four in their
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  half of the inning on an RBI double by Adelaide
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  Johnson and a three run double by Kayla Pottinger. The
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  Huskers tied the contest in the second on a basis
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  clearing double by Anna Herp, but the Norseman grabbed the
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  lead back in the bottom half on an RBI double
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  by Riley Carlson. I think we all knew this wasn't
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  going to be a one zero or two to one game.
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  There were going to be some runs scored, Walsh said.
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  Both teams have really good lineups and can hit, so
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  you just have to stay focused whether you're up or down.
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  I was struggling the first couple innings, then kind of
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  found my rhythm, then kind of lost it again. This
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  wasn't my best day pitching, but my defense really made
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  some great plays behind me to help me out. Serena
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  tied the game at five to five in the third
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  with a run on a wild pitch, then scored three
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  times in the fourth on a two run double by
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  Sharp and an RBI ground out by Finley Broadback. As
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  a coach, you always believe in your team, But to
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  be honest, there were some stretches for us this season
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  when I wondered if we'd make it past regionals, huss said.
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  But every time we'd have those stretches, these girls would
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  find a way to bounce back stronger. This was a
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  very fun game to be a part of, and hopefully
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  we can roll this momentum over to Friday. Newark tied
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  the game at eight eight with a run in the
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  fourth on a run scoring single by Riley Carlson and
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  two in the fifth on an RBI ground out by
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  Claudia Hubel and an RBI single by Leanne mances Serena's
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  Parker Twait started the seventh with a base hit before
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  Walsh's round tripper. Walsh win seven IP eight H eight
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  R five v R two BB three K was backed
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  by a pair of diving catches by centerfielder Matty Young,
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  one each in the sixth and seventh. Riley Carlson four
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  and two thirds IP six H five R three R
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  one BB six K suffered the loss in relief of
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  Pottinger two and one third IP two H five R
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  four R four BB one K. First of all, I
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  think it's fantastic that two Little Ten Conference teams were
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  in this game. Newark coach John Wood said this was
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  a game where each team knows the other one very well,
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  not really any secrets in games like this. It is
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  more than likely going to come down to one or
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  two plays, and those plays went Serena's way. Today. We've
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  shown the fight we did today all season. These girls
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  just don't back down on matter the situation. We had
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  a very young team this year, only one senior, so
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  I'm excited for the next few seasons. We have a
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  great culture in place, the girls work hard to improve,
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  and I expect us to take another step forward next
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  year