REGIONAL SEMIFINAL:

BENNINGTON 9

VALLEY FALLS 0

Bennington entered Wednesday’s 2-1A regional semifinal hoping to capture the program’s first-ever regional championship and continue a historic three-year run, carrying a 20-game winning streak into its matchup with 7-seed Valley Falls on its home field.

The 2-seed Lady Bulldogs were confident they could continue their winning ways, and they proved it with another complete performance.

The same lineup took the field and Hayley Blake again commanded the circle. After two scoreless innings by both teams, Bennington loaded the bases to begin the 3rd and scored first on a sacrifice fly by Rylee Benien. A wild pitch by Valley Falls Abby Wilson allowed Gracie Caswell to score and suddenly it was 2-0 Bennington.

Bennington broke the game open with a dominant fourth inning, scoring seven runs behind RBI hits from Mara Pickering, Alta Noon, Gracie Caswell, Addyson Gillett and Hayley Blake to build a 9-0 lead, while Blake capped the win with a complete-game three-hit shutout and a perfect 4-for-4 performance at the plate.

REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP:

ROSSVILLE 11

BENNINGTON 4

After cruising past Valley Falls, Bennington quickly met its match in the 3-seed Rossville.

The Dawgs scored early against Bennington’s Hayley Blake and led 1-0 after an RBI single from Claire Whitmore.

Bennington walked three times in the first two innings but could not cash in, stranding all three on base.

Rossville’s bats came alive in the second inning as back-to-back hits from Shailee Hubbell and Maggie Sanders sparked the offense before Kenna Perine blasted a two-run homer to left field, capping a four-run frame and extending the lead to 5-0.

The Lady Bulldogs broke through after back-to-back hits from the top of the order set the table for Rylee Benien, who drove in Gracie Caswell with a groundout to put Bennington on the board.

Falyn Clurman was effective in four innings of relief for Rossville, using a steady mix of changeups to disrupt Bennington’s timing. She did not allow any runs until the game was out of hand late.

Wednesday’s regional championship became lopsided in the 7th inning when Rossville scored six runs, highlighted by a 3-run homer by Claire Whitmore to make it 11-2.

Bennington did not go quietly in the bottom of the seventh, battling until the final out and scoring two late runs before falling short of a comeback.

The Lady Bulldogs reached a third straight 2-1A regional final but will have to wait another year for the program’s first state tournament appearance. They finished with a record of 23-3 and have gone an amazing 46-5 over the past two seasons.