FRIDAY SOFTBALL: Matte Grasle gives Calhoun walk-off win over Gillespie
May 16-With a streak of Class 1A regional championships grown to 10 in a row, postseason means go-time for Calhoun Warriors softball.
The Warriors started early with a walk-off victory in their regular-season finale Friday.
Freshman Matte Grasle's two-out single drove in two runs to cap a three-run seventh that beat the Gillespie Miners 6-5 in a nonconference game in Hardin. Calhoun is 16-13. Gillespie is 23-10.
Both the Warriors and Miners, who have met in a playoff prep in the final week of the regular season every year since 2021, are top seeds in next week's regionals. Calhoun goes to the North Greene Class 1A Regional in White Hall, while Gillespie shuffles off the Buffalo for the Tri-City Class 2A Regional.
Gillespie took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, led off with successive singles from Ava Parish, Gillian Smith, Sadie Sholtis and Laci Schuckenbrock, and never trailed until the Warriors were celebrating a victory on their own field in the seventh.
Calhoun's game-winning rally began with one out on back-to-back singles from Brayln Lammy and Layla Longnecker and a walk to Kiera Sievers to load the bases. Conley Klocke's RBI groundout got the Warriors within 5-4 before Grasle hit a 1-0 pitch into center to score Longnecker and Sievers with the tying and winning runs.
Hitting cleanup, Grasle delivered her team's first run with a solo homer in the fourth inning and finished with two hits and three RBI for the Warriors, who got two hits from Lammy and two RBI from Klocke. Anabel Eilerman earned the complete-game win, allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits and one walk with six strikeouts.
Parish had three hits and both Smith and Sholtis added two hits from the Nos. 1-3 slots in the order for Gillespie. Paxton Reid took the loss, yielding six runs (four earned) on eight hits, three walks and three strikeouts.
Calhoun has not lost to a Class 1A opponent since falling to Concord Triopia 13-3 on April 20 in Concord. Four of the Warriors' five defeats since that decision to the Trojans - a loss Calhoun avenged by dealing 26-1 Triopia its only defeat in the WIVC Tourney title game May 12 in Jacksonville - have come vs. Class 3A/4A opponents.
Hillsboro 5, Carlinville 1 - The Hiltoppers exploited eight Cavaliers errors that were turned into five unearned runs to close South Central Conference play with a victory in Hillsboro. The Toppers are 19-7 and finish 6-3 in the SCC. The Cavies, who have lost six in a row and 11 of their last 12 games, fall to 7-19 and 3-6 in the league.
Molly Carriker had two hits and Addyson Ashby drove in the lone run for the Cavaliers, who outhit Hillsboro 5-2. Hallie Gibson went the distance and was tagged with the loss after giving the five unearned runs on two hits, three walks and four strikeouts.
Lainey Lessman was the winning pitcher for the Hiltoppers, surrendering a run on five hits, one walk and seven strikeouts in seven innings.
Metro-East Lutheran 19, Cahokia 4 - The Knights halted a seven-game losing streak by thumping the Comanches in a four-inning nonconference game in Cahokia. MEL is 3-13. Cahokia, which is allowing 19 runs per game, stays winless at 0-18.
Brynne Jenkins drove in six runs with two doubles and a home run to lead a Knights offense that got 10 hits and six walks with aid from seven Cahokia errors. MEL, which broke open an 8-1 lead with 10 runs in the third inning, got three hits and four runs from Hadley Jenkins, two hits and three RBI from Anna Adams and two RBI from both Valerie Johnson and Thea Ball. Hadley Jenkins was the winning pitcher.
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