On Thursday, in the first round of districts, third seeded Lincoln defeated six seed Tipton, 15-3 in 5 innings after a long rain delay after 3 innings. All of the other teams scheduled to play were sent home.
Braylin Paxton pitched a no-hitter, but as her tendency normally goes, she had a wild streak, walking 4 and hitting 2 batters in the first giving up 2 runs.
Lincoln gained 1 run back in their first on a double by Alyssa Mellen and a ground out by Cadence Harvey.
Paxton settled down in the second striking out 2 and getting a pop up for a 1-2-3 inning. Lincoln then tallied 8 runs in the second as the Lady Cardinals bats would explode. Lexi Dulaban, Danika Gillispie, Greenlea Harms, Skylar Arbuckle, Mellen and Rebekah Helland all connected for a hit around walks and errors by the Tipton club.
Lincoln added 2 more in fourth and 4 in the fifth. Tipton managed a run in the fourth on a fielder's choice after a walk and an error by Lincoln.
Paxton walked 2 in the fifth but would strike out 2 and get a pop up to end matters.
Mellen went 2 for 4, scoring 4 runs and driving in 2. Courtney Stephens pounded the ball twice; one for a double and once in the glove of the center fielder.Dulaban went 2 for 3 with 1 RBI and scored twice.Harms, who has really picked up as of late went 2 for 3 driving in 3 and scoring twice.
Lincoln score 15 runs on 9 hits, 6 walks and committed 1 error. Anna Crane took the loss for the Tipton Lady Cardinals.
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Third seeded Lincoln defeated second seeded Sweet Springs 10-9 in a gane for the ages at Lincoln in the district semifinals on Monday.
Lincoln jumped out to a 6 run lead in the first, much thanks to Rebekah Helland who tripled in 3 runs.
It was short lived as Sweet Springs came back with 7 in the second. They added 1 in the fourth and things looked bleak for the Lady Cardinals.
However, Helland tripled again with ducks on the pond driving in 3 more for a 9-8 Lincoln lead. Sweet Springs tied the game 9-9 on a single by Madison Arnold.
Next was the defensive play of the game as Lincoln center fielder Alyssa Mellen threw out the go-ahead run at the plate on a great tag by catcher Lexi Dulaban.
Danika Gillespie doubled to start the seventh. Greenlea Harms grounded out moving the runner to third. With 2 outs, Skylar Arbuckle looped one over second base to score Gillespie.
With the tying runner at third with 2 outs, Braylin Paxton struck out the next batter to preserve the sweet victory.
Paxton got the win pitching around 6 errors and 5 walks, striking out 11 while Lauren Shahan took the loss in relief of Madison Arnold, who pitched 6 innings.Sweet Springs also had 3 errors.
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The Lady Cardinals faced Northwest (Hughesville) in the Class 1 District 7 championship game on Tuesday. The result of that contest was unavailable as of Benton County Enterprise press time.
