By Rich Teverbaugh / For Daily Reporter
FORTVILLE — Pendleton Heights roared back from a 3-1 deficit behind a pair of home runs by Khloee Gregory to defeat Greenfield Central 12-7 in the semifinal of the Mt. Vernon softball sectional.
The Arabians will play Thursday at 6 p.m. in the championship game against Mt. Vernon.
Gregory’s first homer came with no outs and bases empty in the fourth and cut the Cougars lead to 3-2. It open the gates for bigger things that inning.
Two singles and an out later, Kylie Davis put the Arabians ahead for good with a double to center to make it 4-3. Kieli Ryan’s single plated Davis to make it 5-3.
Greenfield-Central’s initial runs came in the first on a two-run blast by Caroline Gibson and a solo blast by Morgan Hornaday.
“We had some momentum early with those runs,” said Greenfield-Central coach Jason Stewart. “Then they scored four runs when maybe it should only have been one if we would have played good defense. Then that momentum swung and our girls didn’t react well to it.”
At one point, PH starting pitcher Ryann Norris retired 11 straight Greenfield-Central hitters. “To play championship softball, you can’t take outs or innings off,” said Stewart. “We’ve got girls who haven’t been through this before.”
The second of Gregory’s homers was the lone run in the fifth and made it 6-3. When asked if she thought the two hits were homers right away, she said, “Yes and no. I did, but I still ran hard. Then when I saw it go out, I just got this great big smile on my face. I am so happy for my team that we get to play for the championship.”
The Arabians added four more runs in the top of the sixth, which included a home run by Caroline Derolf. With a 10-3 lead it looked like smooth sailing.
“I’d hate to be a coach facing our lineup because we have so many players who can hit it out,” said PH coach Rob Davis. “We did this the first time we played them and got down 5-1.”
Then Greenfield-Central got up off the grass and scored three times in the bottom of the sixth on a three-run blast by Ella Redman. Suddenly the Cougars felt like they might have a chance in the final inning.
But Pendleton put two more runs up in the top of the seventh with Hailee Brunnemer’s single providing both. That made it less scary when Greenfield-Central scored the game’s final run on a sacrifice fly by Megan Wineinger.
The Cougars have five seniors who played their final game, Teagan Parsons, Mallorie Fultz, Emmie Lamaster, Hannah Holden and Caroline Gibson.
The Arabians now get the matchup they wanted. “I imagine it will like 2019,” said Davis. “We get another shot at them and that’s what we want.
