Tipp with run-rule opener for softball sectionals
The outcome of the game was never going to be in question. As expected, the Tippecanoe took their #2 seed into the Division Three Sectionals last week, and opened the postseason with a 17-0 rout of Belmont in the tournament opener for the Red Devils.
The Red Devils only allowed two hits on the night, while offensively, they had multiple players with two or more hits, including a team-high three hits from Gracie Raiff. She also belted a home run to close out her big day.
Jaina Drum pitched the team to the win, allowing no hits over three innings. She was one of three pitchers in the game for Tipp.
“The whole season is like a marathon and not a sprint. But now that we are into the tournament, it turns into that sprint where everyone wants to get to districts and regionals,” Tipp coach Charles Tackett said. “I feel we have that type of team that can do that if they come in and focus. Tonight, we played a good defensive game.”
Tipp scored six runs in each of the first two innings to open a huge lead and never looked back. Raiff led off the first inning with a single, Abby Chaney walked, and Emily Aselage singled to drive in the opening run of the game.
A two-run triple from Kyla Fry made it 3-0 before Roo Snell pushed across the fourth run with a single. Following a run scored from Jocelyn Shelton on a wild pitch, the Red Devils capped the scoring in the first when Raiff reached on an error, bringing home Snell.
An inning later, Tipp went back to work. Aselage drove in a run with a single, and Fry doubled to bring home two more, making it 9-0.
Tipp wasn’t done yet. Drum reached on an error allowing another run to score, and Aubrey Davis doubled in two more runs and it was 12-0.
The Red Devils scored three more in the third and capped the scoring in the fourth when Raiff hit a home run for the Red Devils.
Tipp has surpassed the 20-win mark this season, something that has not been done for a few years. It’s something that Tackett is pleased with.
“It is good for the kids because the seniors have had a lot of coaching changes through the years, and we said multiple times this is a group we wish we could have had for more than one year,” Tackett said. “We want to get as far as we can in the tournament with these kids.”
