Kenton softball rallies to beat Shawnee for 1st WBL title

By SEAN BLEVINS

Times sports editor

LIMA — The Kenton softball team just finds a way, no matter what.

The Wildcats trailed 2-1 entering the top of the fifth inning at Lima Shawnee Wednesday before completing a stunning comeback with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning for a 4-2 win to clinch a share of the first Western Buckeye League title in program history.

“In the Wapakoneta game, we had a girl that wasn’t hitting very well come out and hit a double. In the Elida game we did the same thing,” first-year Kenton coach Brooke Austin said. “The girls that aren’t stepping up consistently step up when the times that our usual, consistent girls aren’t. They play really well off each other and they don’t give up. It’s pretty cool to watch.”

Kenton moves to 11-5 overall with its fifth straight win and finishes 8-1 in league play.

The Wildcats have won three games this year with walk-off RBI singles from senior Brynn Butler, and needed another strong seventh inning in their WBL finale Wednesday to capture the championship.

Brynn Butler got the bats going with a 2-out single in the top of the first inning. She stole second base and scored the game’s first run after junior shortstop Macee Heckathorn hit a deep fly ball to left field that was dropped.

The Indians (5-12, 1-6 WBL) nearly tied it in the bottom of the first inning, but Wildcat sophomore left fielder Brayla Butler threw out a Shawnee runner with a perfectly-placed laser to home to preserve the 1-0 lead.

Kenton sophomore right fielder Emori Criner singled in the top of the second inning.

Shawnee senior Bailey Bullock tied it at 1-1 with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the third inning. Freshman Riley Rhodes scored on a wild pitch to give the Indians a 2-1 lead.

Brayla Butler singled in the top of the fourth inning and got to second base on a fielding error. She advanced to third on a wild pitch, but her teammates couldn’t bring her home.

Like they have in many games, the Wildcats flipped a switch in the top of the fifth inning. Freshman first baseman Alexis Ratliff started the rally with a single out of the 9-spot.

“Alexis Ratliff, she came in to hit and she did what we needed her to do, where other people weren’t. I really think that a lot of our rally started in that inning. To get us that run back, so Emily could finish off the rally for us was huge. Really proud of her [Ratliff],” Austin said.

Junior center fielder Riley Totten reached first on an infield single to put runners on the corners. Totten stole second base and had four bags on the night.

Heckathorn brought Ratliff home with an RBI single to tie it up at 2-2, and that energized the Wildcat dugout.

Brayla Butler singled to lead off the top of the sixth inning, and Rhodes was able to close out the frame without giving up anything after that.

A Shawnee runner got to second base with just one out after an overthrow from Kenton, but Brynn Butler successfully maneuvered her way out of it to keep it level.

The cardiac ‘Cats struck again in the top of the seventh inning with a pair of runs. The surge was fueled by a double off the wall from senior catcher Emily Pees. She stole third base and then slid into home on a wild pitch for the go-ahead run.

“Emily is crazy on the bases, that’s why it’s hard when she doesn’t get on. But she got on that last time. She’s so quick and so knowledgeable. She can see things before I can see things sometimes. She’s a great player and has a great softball mind. She wanted this one,” Austin said.

Totten got on first base after an error, stole second and made it to third on a wild pitch. Brynn Butler tallied an RBI single for the insurance run and to double their lead, 4-2.

Brynn Butler calmly closed it out without any danger in the bottom of the seventh to lock up the league title. She surrendered six hits and two runs (zero earned) with nine strikeouts in another stellar seven-inning performance in the circle. She had two hits, a run and an RBI at the plate.

“Brynn is a great player. She goes up there with confidence, she pitches with confidence but she doesn’t look that way. She goes up there content and I know she’ll make it happen. Three walk-offs this year. What she does with the bat and on the mound is crazy,” Austin said.

Next up, Kenton plays at Riverdale Friday at 5 p.m. The Wildcats close the regular season at Marion Pleasant Saturday at 10 a.m., then will host Napoleon in a sectional tournament game May 7 at 5 p.m.

Score by innings

Kenton                        100                              010                              2                                  — 4 9 4

Lima Shawnee           002                              000                              0                                  — 2 6 2

WP: Brynn Butler; LP: Rhodes.

2B: Pees (K).