“I knew I wanted to score, and I was ready for anything,” Saunders said. “We just had to be smart, have confidence at the plate and be ready.”
The win earns Shawnee (21-5) a spot in a sectional final next Tuesday against Central Buckeye Conference rival Kenton Ridge, which beat Bellefontaine 5-0 on Thursday night to advance.
Shawnee led 2-1 heading into the seventh inning, but Graham quickly took the lead. Allison Neeld and Adrianna Hicks got on base after consecutive fielding errors by Shawnee in the infield, and Madison Bryant followed with a double to right field to score Neeld.
Ashton Curnutte then put Graham up 4-2 by hitting a double to left that fell in the middle of three Shawnee players. The Braves got out of the inning without further damage, in part thanks to throwing Curnutte out at home later in the inning.
Shawnee coach Chris Roberts brought the team together in the dugout before Shawnee went to bat and told them to leave nothing behind.
“We were coming up with our 2-3-4 hitters, right at the top of our order, so I had confidence that we would come back,” Roberts said.
Saunders, Spitzer and Abbie Tuttle drew walks to load the bases for Shawnee pitcher Mary Britton, and she hit a two-RBI single to center to tie the game. Shawnee couldn’t get any more runs across in the seventh, and Graham left two runners on base in the eighth.
Emma Wade started the eighth with a strikeout, and Paree Furness followed with a line drive to Graham’s third baseman. But with a full count, Saunders blasted a pitch to center field and reached second base. Spitzer then came to the plate, and Saunders worked her way to home plate on passed balls.
“Aliya’s two-out double in the eighth was huge, and Claudia had a really good at-bat, and we got lucky there with the passed balls,” Roberts said. “I couldn’t have been happier to have both of them at the plate since they’re experienced seniors.”
Graham finishes with a 15-7 record, and coach Ralph Foster credited the team through fighting through Thursday’s back-and-forth game.
“This is one tough group,” Foster said. “With the inexperience we had this season, these girls have fought and grown and went at it every night. I’m proud of them.”
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