College Heights softball rallies to reach district final
May 6—MOUNT VERNON, Mo. — College Heights Christian erupted for six runs in the top of the seventh-inning and knocked off second-seeded El Dorado Springs 14-10 on Wednesday night in a Class 2 District 6 softball semifinal game.
The third-seeded Cougars (17-3) face top-seeded Mount Vernon (18-5) in the championship at 5 p.m. Thursday. The Mountaineers blanked fourth-seeded Lamar 6-0 in their semifinal as Harley Daniels struck out 14 batters and Hadley Cornell had two hits and two runs scored.
College Heights spent almost the entire game battling from behind. The Cougars led only one time — 3-2 after scoring three runs in the top of the second inning, only to see the Bulldogs score five in the bottom half — until the final inning.
El Dorado Springs (19-6) led 10-8 after each team scored a run in the sixth inning. Dani Ogle's two-run home run in the first inning and Macie May's three-run inside-the-park homer in the second sparked the Bulldogs to their early lead.
Aaliyah Perez singled to center to start the CHC seventh, stole second and took third on Avery Good's groundout. Sarah Painter followed with a run-scoring single to left field, and Lauren Ukena reached on an error to put the tying run in scoring position.
Jayli Johnson walked to load the bases, and Kloee Williamson reached on a fielder's choice as Painter scored for the 10-10 deadlock. Layne Jackson walked on a 3-1 pitch to force in the go-ahead run, and Maddy Colin's two-run single to right and Addie Lawrence's run-scoring groundout pushed the lead to four runs.
Colin then retired the Bulldogs in order in the bottom of the seventh on a groundout, strikeout and popup. Colin allowed eight hits and seven earned runs, walked three battters and struck out eight.
The Cougars finished with 17 hits, including three by Johnson and Lawrence and two by Williamson, Jackson, Colin and Painter. Colin drove in three runs while Johnson, Williamson and Good all had two.
