The Festus Tigers defeated Park Hills Central 8-3 on Wednesday (Oct. 10) in a Class 3 sectional softball contest at West City Park in Festus. After a scoreless first three innings for both clubs, Festus went up 2-0 in the top of the fourth on RBI singles by Ashley Davis and Cheyenne Pratt, both with two out. But the Rebels cut that advantage to 2-1 in the bottom of the frame on a run-scoring single by catcher Olivia Casey. Festus pitcher Mollie Carter singled to score two runs in the fifth and Carol Floyd had an RBI sacrifice fly to make it 5-1, and Tiffany Link belted a three-run double in the sixth for an 8-1 lead. Casey answered with a two-run homer but it wasn’t enough and the 24-2 Tigers advanced to the quarterfinal round on Saturday, when they will play John F. Kennedy at Kennedy.
Also advancing to the quarterfinals are the Northwest Lions, who won their Class 4 sectional 5-4 on Wednesday over Cape Girardeau Central. Lindsey Baumgarth went three-for-four with an RBI and Bree Sharpe and Abby Askins had two hits apiece to lead the Lions, who got another strong pitching performance from Alicia Pingleton. She allowed only five hits and struck out 12. Pingleton has all 15 of Northwest’s pitching victories this season. The Lions (15-11) have won seven in a row but face a tall order in their Saturday quarterfinal at Eureka. The Wildcats are 19-1 including 10 shutout wins.
Jefferson also played a sectional game on Wednesday, in Class 2, and lost at home to South Callaway, 4-2. The Blue Jays, who won their school’s first district title in any sport earlier in the week, finish the season with a 12-10 record. (Ted Howell photo: Festus second baseman Ashley Davis fights off the sun in her eyes to haul in a pop fly in the Tigers’ win over the Rebels at West City Park.)
