By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
FAUCETT - The Mid Buchanan softball team got off to a fast start and held off a late charge from North Platte to claim their third straight district championship on Monday, defeating North Platte 6-4 in the Class 2 District 7 championship game at Mid-Buchanan High School.
The Dragons got off to an early lead, following a 1-2-3 inning by senior starting pitcher Emma Lisenbee in the top of the first.
A leadoff hit by Sophia Smith was followed by a Morgan Marshall triple that scored Smith. Not long after, Paige Bennett stepped to the plate and got a single of her own, scoring Marshall and putting Mid-Buchanan up 2-0 after the first.
Mid-Buchanan added two more runs in the bottom of the second, again thanks to Marshall, who with runners on second and third, singled and drove in two runs, giving her three RBIs on the day and making the score 4-0 Dragons after two.
The Panthers got a run back in the third inning on a Brooke Kretzer single, but with a runner in scoring position, Lisenbee got out of the jam, holding North Platte to just the one run and making the score 4-1.
North Platte came out swinging in the fifth, however, recording three straight hits - the third pushing a run across and forcing Mid-Buchanan to switch pitchers, bringing on sophomore reliever Kaylea Myers.
A walk from Myers loaded the bases, bringing Courtney Dehn to the plate. Dehn singled, bringing across another run and keeping the bases loaded. With Camryn Kersten at the plate, Myers gave up another walk, tying the game at 4-4 in the fifth.
With the Dragons looking for an answer, up to the plate stepped freshman Dru Pearson. With Bennett standing at first base, Pearson deposited a home run to left center field, causing her dugout to erupt out onto the field and celebrate at the plate.
The Dragons reclaimed the lead for good at 6-4 in the fifth.
Pearson, who was 2-for-3 on the day, says she didn't expect to hit the go-ahead home run.
"My previous at bats I was not doing too well and I was very frustrated and then I just kind of kept my head up and then it happened," Pearson told reporters following the game.
With the lead back in hand, Myers settled in and recorded six straight outs to give Mid-Buchanan their third straight district championship.
With the Dragons in the midst of a record setting season, head coach Rob Davenport says this one in this run has been key.
"I told the girls the hardest thing is winning your district, especially when you look at a district like ours that's all-conference teams, we know each other inside and out," Davenport says.
"So, that's the hardest step, now that doesn't mean it's going to get easier, but the further you get away from your conference the less people know and so it kind of helps you a little bit."
Lisenbee says it feels great to get another district title under her belt.
"We put in a lot of hard work, a lot of time, it took a lot of effort," Lisenbee said. "We kept our heads up, we cheered loud, and we cheered each other on and that's what got us through it."
Mid-Buchanan is now 32-4 on the season, and now advances to the state quarterfinals.
Mid-Buchanan will host Carrollton in state quarters. It's a Carrollton team that the Dragons beat 10-2 back on September 3h during the Mid-Buchanan tournament.
State quarterfinals will begin this Saturday.
