Softball: Harrisburg holds on to beat Benton

Harrisburg struck early and held on late to to take a 7-5 victory over the Benton Rangerettes in the first round of the IHSA Class 2A West Frankfort Regionals.<br />After taking an early lead, the Lady Bulldogs maintained their defense to bring the Rangerettes' late rally up short by just two runs.<br />"We hit the ball in key situations&#8230; we played outstanding defense too," said Red Stafford, Bulldogs' head coach.<br />The team in purple started things off quickly with two runs in the first inning. After getting on base with a double to right field, McKenzie Sullivan eventually made it around to third base and then stole home for the Bulldogs' first run of the game.<br />With one on base, pitcher Lydia Miller knocked an RBI double to right field for the second run of the inning.<br />In the second inning, the Bulldogs pulled even farther ahead with two more runs thanks to an RBI double by Sullivan and a stolen base by Mya King.<br />Still, the Bulldogs extended their lead to 5-0 in the third inning thanks to a lead off solo home run by Madeline Rider.<br />But they still did not stop going into the fourth inning and they added one more run from an RBI triple by Sullivan.<br />Finally, the Rangerettes were able to get on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning. After loading the bases, Baylie Sawyer stole home after a wild pitch was thrown by Miller. Eb Casey followed after her as Zoe Carlton hit a ground ball to short stop. Rider threw to get Carlton out at first, but Casey's run counted.<br />The Rangerettes' defense held off the Bulldogs in the fifth inning and then they tallied one more run. Senior Ally Gischer got on base and then stole all the way home after an error throw by Bulldogs' catcher Karsyn Davis.<br />But the Bulldogs' offense would not stay quiet for long. In the sixth inning, Sullivan again hit an RBI base hit into right field for her team's final run of the game.<br />The Rangerettes continued their rally in the bottom of the sixth, earning one run on an RBI base hit by Kiley Carter. Then in the seventh, they earned their final run after senior Cristen Shaw popped out, but Courtney Reno tagged up and stole home.<br />Unfortunately, the push was not enough and the Rangerettes' season ended while the Bulldogs move on to play in the championship game today (Thursday) at 4:30 p.m.

<strong>Galatia-Thompsonville 14, Gallatin County 4</strong><br />At the Carrier Mills-Stonefort 1A Regional, Galatia-Thompsonville's Dani Reynolds threw a <br />a three hitter as the Bearcats took down Gallatin County 14-4 in five innings. <br />Reynolds improved to 12-4 on the season as she struck out six and walked two.<br />At the dish, Leah Davis and Kennedy Harris both went 3-for-4 and each added a home run in the win. Davis drove in a team-high four runs, while Harris had three RBI. Katie Linsley was also 3-for-4 with two RBI. Cassie Cotter and Brittany Hutchison both had two hits as Cotter drove in one run and Hutchison scored two runs. Katie Ramsey was 1-for-2 with a pair of RBI.<br />Galatia-Thompsonville will play the winner of Trico/Norris City-Omaha-Enfield Saturday at 11 a.m.