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With a sectional championship on the line on Thursday night, the Tippecanoe Valley and Columbia City softball teams met at Fairfield High School and treated spectators to an incredibly well-played game. Pitching was the story all game long, with the Lady Eagles outlasting the Lady Vikings in a 4-2 win.
Dalynne Bussard, one of the best pitchers in the area all season long, was tasked with shutting down the Columbia City offense from the circle. She got off to a good start in the top of the first, working around a double by opposing pitcher Emma Hiss and a walk to start things off with a scoreless inning. Hiss had little trouble when it was her turn to step into the circle, retiring the side in order to send things to the second.
Bussard matched her first-inning strikeout total with two more in the second as she was able to avoid any damage aside from a two-out single. The starter helped out her own cause with a bloop single in the bottom of the second for her team’s first hit of the game. She advanced to second on a groundout, and to third on a bunt single by Temperance Caudill. Both were stranded in scoring position as Hiss was able to get the final two outs of the inning.
For the third straight inning, Bussard gave up a base hit but no more as the pitcher’s duel continued. After the first two hitters were retired in the bottom half of the third, Malaynie Costello put herself into scoring position with a single, followed by an error. Unfortunately for the Lady Vikings, the very next pitch resulted in a pop up in foul territory that was caught for the final out. A leadoff walk issued by Bussard to begin the fourth would come back to bite her, ultimately turning into the first run of the game a few batters later on a sacrifice fly hit by Mackenzie Taulbee. The Lady Eagles put another runner in scoring position in this inning, but had to settle for just the one run.
The bottom of the fourth had its fair share of dramatics, as it began with a single by Bussard. She was awarded second base on an interference call against the first baseman, putting her in scoring position with nobody else. Ironically, she’d be called out on a ball hit to the shortstop by Caudill on an interference call against her. That ended the rally before it could begin, and things headed to the fifth.
Bussard followed up giving up the only run of the game thus far by her first 1-2-3 inning of the contest in the top of the fifth. Hiss was able to do the same for the second time in the bottom half of the frame, keeping it a 1-0 game as outs were becoming slimmer and slimmer by the minute.
Valley’s task became quite a bit more difficult in the top of the sixth, as Columbia City was able to blitz the Lady Vikings offensively. Madelyn Brady began the inning with a double, which was trouble itself, but it was the next hitter, Mylie Ward, who did the damage. She crushed a ball over the wall in center field for a two-run homer that made it 3-0.
Valley refused to go away quietly. Costello led off the bottom of the sixth with a double, and came around to score her team’s first run of the night a batter later as Kahlyn Manns drove her in with a double of her own. Bussard was next up, and kept it going with a single to score Manns and make it 3-2. She’d end the inning at second base, but the Lady Vikings had gotten those two runs back and trailed by just one again heading into the seventh.
Columbia City struck again in their final time at the plate, as a double by Hiss scored a run to make it a 4-2 game.
With three outs to work with, the Lady Vikings needed two runs to force another inning and three to win a sectional title. The team was able to bring the tying run to the plate after a two-out single by Mackaylie Costello, but Hiss’ eighth strikeout of the game ended it a batter later.
Valley will return next season.
