GLENVILLE, W.Va. — Less than an hour after grinding out a 2-1, 10-inning win over Doddridge County in the semifinals of the Little Kanawha Conference Tournament, St. Marys had to quickly refocus on a one-loss opponent in the championship game. The Blue Devils did just that in a 4-0 win over Roane County to secure the school’s first LKC title.
“This is huge,” said St. Marys head coach Lacy Riggs. “This was goal number one on our list for the year.”
After pitching six relief innings in the semifinal, Cali Masters allowed just three baserunners against the Raiders. She struck out 14 batters, walked one and yielded just two hits.
“Her riseball was working well and her curveball was working well. And her changeup worked well also.”
St. Marys broke a scoreless stalemate in the third inning. Breanna Price circled the bases for an inside-the-park home run after hitting a liner into the corner in left field.
“I was confident. I thought for sure she was going to make it.”
The Blue Devils added a pair of runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth as part of their nine-hit attack.
“I was a little bit concerned about our bats. We didn’t hit well in game one. But we came out and seemed to bounce right back from it.”
Masters, Price and Zoey Winland each had a pair of base hits for the top-ranked Blue Devils (23-1).
Roane County starter Mahailey Nicholson struck out eight batters while tossing a complete game. Piper Harlan had both of the hits for the No. 5 Raiders (19-2). Roane defeated Wahama, 6-2 in the semifinal round.
Both the Raiders and the Blue Devils will open double-elimination sectional play next week.