MORGANTOWN — If your afternoon nap lasted a bit too long, or you happened to get stuck in traffic heading out to Mylan Park Monday, you might’ve missed the University vs. Buckhannon-Upshur Region 1 Section 2 semifinal softball game at sunny Lynch Field.
That’s because the winner’s bracket-leading Hawks, behind the devastating, no-hit pitching of Maddie Campbell and an aggressive, efficient offense, buzz-sawed the Lady Bucks in five ultra-quick innings, 8-0.
“Maddie (Campbell) was throwing hard, and hitting her spots all night,” UHS coach Mindy Parks said. “She was very composed, especially for a freshman, and anytime you throw a no-hit game, especially at tournament time, it’s a pretty big deal. I’m really proud of everyone tonight.”
After a scoreless first, UHS (23-5) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second. Lauren Huebsch led off with a single, stole second, and scored on a perfectly placed bunt single by Ashlyn Weaver, who later scored on a strikeout by drawing a throw from the catcher, then racing home to beat the throw from third.
The only BU (10-10) runner to reach scoring position came in the third after a leadoff walk and a sac bunt, but Campbell eliminated the threat with a punch out and soft fly to center. It turned out to be a big moment in the game because the Hawks’ offense caught fire in the third. Campbell ripped a sharp single to center, then Olivia Masoner, Huebsch, Sophia Lehosit, Ashlyn Weaver, and Bree Royce all stroked line-drive singles, leading to five big runs and a commanding 7-0 lead after three.
“We got a big boost when she pitched out of that little jam in the third against their best hitters,” Parks said. “The game was still close, and you never know what would’ve happened if they tied it up there.”
After Campbell struck out five of her last six batters, it was up to University to close out BU in the fifth, and – in the spirit of efficiency – Huebsch completed her perfect day at the plate and took care of it with one swing of the bat. Her opposite field gap shot double and aggressive turn around second forced an errant throw, and she raced home with a head-first flop for the walk-off winning run.
“We wanted to pick good pitches to hit and be ready to hit them,” Parks explained. “We were aggressive in the zone and didn’t try to do too much. A perfect example was on Lauren’s (Huebsch) last at-bat. She didn’t try to pull an outside pitch instead, she barreled up and drove it into the right-center gap.
The Hawks will face the winner of today’s Buckhannon-Upshur vs. Bridgeport game for the Sectional championship on Wednesday at Mylan Park, with first pitch scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
BY MARK SCHRAF
University 8, Buckhannon-Upshur 0, 5 innings
Buckhannon-Upshur 000 00 – 0 0 1
University 025 01 – 8 10 1
BUCKHANNON-UPSHUR (10-10) — Alyssa Abel c 2 0 0 0 Taylor Spratt 3b 2 0 0 0 Kailey Hart 1b 2 0 0 0 Jansen Kimble p 2 0 0 0 Reagan Mason ss 2 0 0 0 Reese Curry cf 2 0 0 0 Quinn Burnside dp 2 0 0 0 Katarah Linger 2b 2 0 0 0 Sophie Lantz lf 0 0 0 0 Shaylee Hebb c 0 0 0 0 Totals 16 0 0 0.
UNIVERSITY (23-5) — Maddie Campbell p 2 1 1 0 Anna Argabrite 3b 2 0 0 0 Olivia Masoner c 3 1 1 1 Lauren Huebsch ss 3 3 3 0 Sophia Lehosit rf 2 1 1 1 Ashlyn Weaver lf 2 2 2 3 Ally Jansen 1b 2 0 1 0 Bri Royce cf 2 0 1 1 Kelsey Park 2b 2 0 0 0 Totals 20 8 10 6.
E- BU 1 UHS 1. LOB – BU 2 UHS 2. 2B – UHS 1 (Huebsch). SH – BU 1 (Lantz), UHS 1 (Arbogast). HBP – UHS 1 (Campbell by Kimble).
BU – Kimble (L) 4+ ip 8 r 7 er 10 h 0 bb 1 so.
UHS – Campbell (W) 5 ip 0 r 0 er 0 h 1 bb 11 so.
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