Union County seniors Danielle Franklin, Madison Walters, Tanner Henry and Rebecca Stafford accepted the sectional championship trophy. Photo by Ryan Tincher.
LIBERTY, Ind. – Union County fought the good fight on Tuesday night, but the Patriots came up short as Eastern Hancock posted a 7-6 victory in the Class 2A regional championship game.
“They have battled at every turn,” Union County Head Coach Scott Gray said. “Every time they’ve been down, they’ve come back.”
“They just refuse to quit,” Gray continued. “We’re one play, one hit short tonight.”
After falling behind 3-0 in the top the first inning, Union County finished the contest with the winning run at the plate in the bottom of the seventh.
“We got off to a terrible start,” Gray said. “We were tight, but finally got in the game and got going and battled the whole time.”
The Patriots (23-7) were able to manufacture two runs in the bottom of the the first against Darby Shaw, who has signed with Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne.
Madison Walters knocked in a run on a fielder’s choice and Kristin Klein added a RBI ground out.
Eastern Hancock (18-3) added a run in the second and two more in the fourth before Union County closed the gap to 6-4 in the bottom of the fourth..
Rachel Sparks had a RBI single before Danielle Franklin reached on an error that allowed the second run to score.
The Royals picked up their last run in the sixth, while the Patriots matched the tally when Sparks brought home a run on a fielder’s choice.
In the bottom of the seventh, Klein’s run-scoring double made it 7-6, but she was left at second base as the game ended.
Sparks worked on the mound for the Patriots until she left with one out in the fourth.
“Rachel didn’t have her best stuff,” Gray said. “They did a great job of waiting back on her off-speed stuff. She really didn’t keep the ball down in the zone like we needed.”
Franklin finished the contest in the circle as the Patriots rallied.
“She came in a did all we could ask her to do,” Gray said.
Tanner Henry, Tara Williams and Emma Adams also had hits for the Patriots.
The Seniors
Tuesday’s contest marked the end of the careers for Union County seniors Walters, Franklin, Henry and Rebecca Stafford.
“Those kids are very special to me,” Gray said. “They come to work every day. They lead by example and they’re been great role models for our kids. They did everything they could do. This program will miss them. They’ve been stellar leaders.”