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Indians roll by Lewis

by Frank Tate

CORRESPONDENT

PHILIPPI -- Monday's Class AAA, Region III semifinal at the Barbour County Fairgrounds was supposed to a pitchers' duel, but nobody told the Bridgeport or Lewis County hitters, who combined for 27 total runs in the Indians' 19-8 win.

With the win, Bridgeport will play Saturday in the regional final at Nicholas County.

Bridgeport started off the scoring in the second inning when it plated six runs as Shannon Curry and Kelley Gray had RBI doubles and Erica Rome added a run-scoring single in the frame.

The Minutemaids cut the deficit in half in the third with three unearned runs.

Bridgeport wasn't the only team with shaky defense as the Minutemaids committed eight errors on the night, leading to a multitude of Indian runs.

"It's a shame that had to happen tonight," said Lewis County coach Jim Cook. "When you give away that many plays, you can't expect to win."

With its season over with its next loss, Bridgeport made sure it would play another day.

"Our players didn't want their season to end tonight and it showed on the field," said Bridgeport coach Lois Pratt.

"Their will and determination is what made the difference in the game."

Beth Guzzi recorded the win, tossing a six-hitter while striking out nine. She improved to 17-7 on the year.

Lewis county's Heather Gay was tagged with the loss.

· BERKELEY SPRINGS 6, South Harrison 2: Berkeley Springs' defense had been a problem all season, but the Indians made the defensive plays when they needed in the their victory over South Harrison in the Class AA Region II semifinal.

It marked the second consecutive year that Berkeley Springs eliminated the Hawks in the regional.

"All year long our defense has let us down. Our pitching has been decent and we have been hitting the ball all year and it all came together today," Berkeley Springs coach Greg Brown said.

Shoddy defense made the beginning of the season bumpy for the Indians (11-10). According to Brown, Berkeley Springs committed 55 errors in its first seven games.

While their defense held South Harrison (13-3) at bay, the Indians' offense broke open a close game in the top of the seventh as they plated three runs on three hits.

Shea Sirbaugh started the inning with a single to left and scored on Jessica McCosker's double off the center field fence.

Laura Kleine followed with an RBI double to left-center, advanced to third on a wild pitch and later scored on Dee Stotler's groundout.

Down by two runs, the Hawks tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning when Tennille Dyer's single scored Carrie Fenstermacher and Bridget Lawrence.

The tie was brief as the Indians regained the lead in the top of the fifth. McCosker doubled to start the inning and later scored what proved to be the winning run on an error.

"They got the timely hits that we didn't get, but the girls played hard and had nothing to be ashamed of," South Harrison coach said Brad Jett. "We hit the ball right at people and (Berkeley's) hits fell in.

"We had a good year and we have come a long way in three years."

Sarah Stiles struck out eight in earning the complete-game win.

Amber Morrison struck out nine, but suffered the loss.

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