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Marion Local's Kailey's Schoenlein gets caught in a run down as Celina's Alexis Siefring (5) goes for the tag.
CELINA - It's better to win late than not at all. Celina let a 2-0 lead slip in the seventh, but timely hitting allowed the Bulldogs to win their season opener 3-2 over Marion Local Tuesday night at Westview Park.
It was a quick start for Celina pitcher Colbie Kinney, who struck out the side in the first. Two came via the fastball, while Hailey Everman swung through an off-speed pitch for the final out of the frame.
Everman collected a strikeout herself in the bottom of the first, and held the Bulldogs off the board for two innings. Kinney collected two more strikeouts in the third inning and set up Celina in the bottom half.
Alexis Siefring led off the home half of the third with a single, and Kinney later moved the infielder to third with a single of her own that never left the infield. Lilly Gonzalez capped off the two out rally with a sharply hit grounder that Hannah Rindler could not field cleanly. It allowed Siefring to score and Celina took a 1-0 lead all the way to the sixth.
Marion did get their first baserunner in the fourth when Rindler reached on an error, but Kinney struck out two of the next three to halt the rally. It was the seventh and eighth strikeout for the Bulldog's ace, who carried the slim lead during the offensive struggle.
The sixth inning was a small-ball showcase for the Bulldogs. Paiton Rhodes reached first after her softly hit grounder proved too much to handle for Everman. Avery Stachler moved Rhodes over on a bunt, and the runner eventually scored after two wild pitches from Everman.
Celina's Olivia Sutter (10) puts the ball in play.
Carrying a 2-0 lead into the seventh inning, the Celina fans at Jim Hoess Field looked ready to celebrate. However, Marion would go down swinging.
Maya Bruggeman earned a five-pitch walk to lead off the seventh, and Everman's single put runners on the corners. After Ivy Thobe struck out, the 11th for Kinney, Kailey Schoenlein drove in Marion's first run on a groundout to second.
With Everman in scoring position, it was up to Molly Bruns with one out. After working a 2-1 count, Bruns drove the next pitch up the middle and past any Celina infielder. Everman scored easily and the Flyers tied the game at 2-all. Emmy Everman flew out to end the Marion seventh, but the Bulldogs now needed a run in a brand new ballgame.
"A lot of teams could quit there at the end and we stayed in it," Marion coach McLean Correll said. "We earned ourselves the opportunity to play in the bottom of the seventh and I can't be happier than what the players did in that game."
Unfortunately for Marion, Celina had no thought of going to extras.
Marion Local's Aaliyah Heitkamp makes a play on defense during Tuesday's game at Celina.
Siefring flew out to open the home half of the seventh, but it brought the top of the order back up. Campbell Gass picked a perfect time for her first hit and roped the ball down the left field line. She reached second easily, and the winning run was in scoring position with Maddie Allen up to the plate.
Three pitches later, Allen whacked Hailey Everman's pitch into the centerfield grass and Gass came around to score the winning run. It was just the seventh hit of the game for Celina, and it sent the Bulldog fans home happy.
"We got the win at the end of the day, but we are better offensively than we showed today," Celina coach Renee Williams said. "We need to make sure that we are attacking our zones and doing our job to make sure we're getting runners on and scoring them."
Kinney earned the win after pitching the full seven innings and striking out 11 while allowing both runs. Hailey Everman pitched a solid six and one-third innings with nine strikeouts, but got saddled with the loss.
"Colbie's a great kid for us. She really stepped up as a senior, and you can see that maturity level. She was hitting spots and doing what she can to keep hitters off balance," Williams said of Kinney.
