The Pilot News - Two-run sixth dooms Bremen in title bout

Lewis Cass provided the worst, turning the tables on Bremen with a couple of two-out runs in the sixth en route to a 2-1 state finals win over the Lions at rain-drenched North Central High School late Monday night.
The Kings tied the game on designated player Leandra Baber’s two-out opposite field line drive single to left, and seized the upper hand with Emily Watkins’ RBI humpback infield liner.
“It was a great ride,” Bremen head coach Chris English said as the day’s third deluge arrived, cutting short the postgame awards ceremonies. “I’m proud of the seniors. We’re going to miss them.”
Led by the bottom of the order, Bremen gave itself a chance in the top of the seventh. Senior second baseman Rachel Jensen grounded a single up the middle, followed by Courtney Bahr’s solid liner to right to put runners at first and second with no outs. However, left-handed slappers Renee Zeltwanger and Jenni Andrews grounded into back-to-back fielder’s choice outs at third and third baseman Casey Hueni rolled out to second to end the game.
“Our slappers kept hitting the ball to third,” English said. “We wanted them to hit it down the first-base line to advance the runners. It wasn’t meant to be.”
The game — much like the entire state finals — looked perhaps like it wasn’t meant to be. While Bremen completed its semifinal game — suspended by rain Friday night — under sunny skies, Lewis Cass and Southwestern (Hanover) waited out a lengthy delay in the fifth inning of the second semifinal Monday afternoon. That pushed the start time for the championship game, originally slated for Saturday afternoon and re-scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday night, back to 9 p.m. Although the game started on time – or at least according to its new, new start time – rain and lightning forced a 46-minute interruption midway through the first frame, and the contest ended after 11 p.m. The teams played through intermittent showers from the fourth inning on.
Behind Bremen ace Andrews’ right arm and catcher Jenny Fraine’s bat, the Lions rolled through five innings with a 1-0 lead. Andrews, who earned the Class 2A Mental Attitude Award, effectively changed speeds and repeatedly climbed the ladder, allowing just two hits and fanning six through five innings.
However, a sixth-inning leadoff walk to Taylor Dehaven started the Lions’ downfall. Dehaven advanced to second on a sacrifice and wheeled to third on a ground out, still giving Bremen an opportunity to escape unscathed. Baber, though, poked the first pitch of her at-bat into left field to knot the game at 1-1. Peyton Klinkhamer then beat out a slow roller to short and Mallory Cummings walked on four pitches to juice the bases.
Watkins followed with a short pop fly into the Bermuda Triangle between third, the pitcher’s circle and home. The ball dropped for a single in front of a diving Hueni, who appeared to spin her wheels in the infield muck, and pinch runner Sarah Robertson scored the go-ahead run.
“Jenni was going great and then she started falling behind a few too many hitters,” English said. “The leadoff walk hurt.”
Seven runners left on base also hurt Bremen. Even though the Lions pounded out eight hits and crushed the ball several more times against Kings pitcher Amy Sites, most of the hard-hit balls carried straight to Lewis Cass defenders.
In fact, back-to-back one-out singles from Fraine and center fielder Amanda LaFree, who knocked out two hits apiece, put runners at first and second in the top of the sixth. However, Jessie Creakbaum, who doubled into the right-center field gap in the second frame, flew out to deep center, and Nicole Seitz flew out deep to right to end the threat.
Bremen scored its only run in the third. Andrews reached on a one-out error, advanced to second on a wild pitch and third on a Hueni sacrifice and then scored when Fraine dumped a single just inside the right-field chalk.
“We hit the ball really well,” English said. “I thought we outplayed (Lewis Cass) offensively.”
Bremen, which played in its first state final game, loses Andrews, Fraine, LaFree, Creakbaum, Toireasa Schutz, Jensen, Bahr and Zeltwanger to graduation.
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BREMEN 1