CANTON OH- South Range nabbed the lead late in the game in an 8-4 victory over Champion on Friday in the DIII Regional Final. The game was tied at four with South Range batting in the top of the eighth when Anna Aey singled on the first pitch of the at bat, scoring one run. The Raiders would go on to tack on three more after that in the 8th
South Range earned the victory despite allowing Champion to score three runs in the sixth inning. The Golden Flashes offense in the inning was led by Morgan Davis, Isabella Meyer, and Abigail Meadors, all driving in runs in the frame. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Champion tied things up at four.
Juli Stachowicz got the win for the Raiders. The southpaw surrendered four runs on five hits over eight innings, striking out ten and walking one.
Gabrielle Gradishar took the loss for Champion. The hurler allowed ten hits and eight runs over eight innings, striking out ten and walking one.
South Range collected ten hits on the day. Gretchen Bartels, Kelly Szolek, and Jayli Wilt all collected multiple hits. Wilt, Szolek, and Bartels each managed two hits to lead the Raiders.
Davis led Champion with two hits in four at bats. Gradishar tied Champion’s single season home run record with her 18th in the fourth inning to give Champion a 1-0 lead at the time.
South Range makes their third trip to the state semifinals since 2016. The Raiders have won each of the last two state semifinal games they’ve played in. The Raiders are squared up with Wheelersburg with a trip to the championship on the line. That game is slated for Thursday at 12:30 at Historic Firestone Stadium in Akron.
