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Zeps upset Frontier softball

NEW MATAMORAS – A couple Shenandoah High bat-arounds proved to be host and favored Frontier High’s undoing.

The 13th-seeded Zeps never looked back after scoring six runs apiece in the fifth and sixth innings to upset the fifth-seeded Cougars, 12-5, in an Ohio Division IV sectional semifinal softball game Tuesday.

“I’m not going to lie, this is the best we’ve hit the ball all year,” said SHS skipper Stacey Trenner. “We saved it to the end, and we’ll take it any time we can get it.

“This time of year, you just play good ball and give yourself a chance.”

Shenandoah, now 8-15 on the season, advances in tourney play and will now play at sixth-seeded Strasburg-Franklin today at 5 p.m. During Pioneer Valley Conference play, the Zeps were blanked twice by the Cougars (16-7), 11-0 and 4-0.

“It didn’t go quite as we planned,” said Frontier head coach Russ Morris. “Shenandoah played a real good game. They got the win, and they earned it.”

SHS senior right-hander Jenna Cowgill pitched and went the seven-inning distance on the hill. She also helped her own cause with two doubles and three runs-batted-in.

“It never hurts to have Jenna,” Trenner said.

“She brings a lot of moxie when she’s pitching in these kind of games. She’s got a lot of experience and that really helped today.”

Added Morris, “Cowgill’s a very nice player.”

Junior left fielder Andrea Wood added three hits and drove in two runs as did sophomore catcher Kara Trenner. Brooke Arick and Hope Worstell each added an RBI, while Dany Dimmerling had two hits and scored twice.

“We just didn’t want to stop hitting,” Stacey Trenner said.

FHS junior righty Sammi Morris (15-7), suffered the mound setback. In seven innings of work, she fanned eight and walked five.

She also had two base-knocks, including a double, and three RBIs.

Lexi Brookover was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Cala Curtis and Maddie Greathouse each added two hits and scored twice.

Early on, Morris pitched four scoreless innings, and was staked to a 2-0 advantage in the third inning. Leading off the frame, Greathouse beat out a bunt, and Curtis did the same. Greathouse then came around to score on Brookover’s single, and Curtis legged it home on Morris’ groundout to short.

In the top of the fifth, Shenandoah sent 11 batters to the plate, and plated six runs for a 6-2 lead. The Zeps had four hits and also capitalized on four walks. Kara Trenner and Wood each had a two-run single during the surge.

Frontier got one of those runs back in the bottom half of the frame when Morris doubled home Brookover.

But Shenandoah extended its lead to 12-3 in the top of the sixth. The Zeps benefitted from three Cougar errors, and got a two-run double from Cowgill.

“We had some issues there in the middle innings and didn’t get the job done,” Russ Morris said. “We had trouble finding the strike zone, and they hit the ball well.

“In a ballgame, you just have to continue to do your job every inning. Shenandoah just wasn’t going away.”

Frontier scored twice in the bottom of the sixth with Brookover doubling home one run and Sammi Morris plating another.

After Cowgill walked FHS leadoff batter Nikki Haught in the bottom of the seventh, she retired the next three Cougars to secure the victory.

“I’m very proud of how our girls have done this year,” Russ Morris said. “We’re not going to define our season by one game.

“Did we want to go further in tournament play? Yes. Did we have bigger plans? Yes. But guess what? Things don’t always go the way you want.”

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