Walter sisters lead Warriors to second straight district title

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By Scott Hayes, Staff Writer Updated 10:08 PM Friday, May 22, 2009

A sister act lifted Lebanon to its second straight Division I district softball championship.

Alex and Ana Walter drove in all three runs in the Warriors 3-1 win over Lakota West on Friday, May 22.

Alex Walter’s two-out triple in the top of the fifth provided the margin of victory, driving in Ana and Alex Machen. Ana Walter’s base hit moments earlier drove in Tara Perkins — who led off the inning with a single — with the tying run.

“It was a good pitch, it just didn’t have much movement,” Alex Walter said. “It was the best pitch to hit I saw the whole game.

“Soon as I hit it I knew it put us ahead. I just had to turn on the jets to get to third base. It was an amazing feeling.”

The two-run lead was all Lebanon pitcher Bethany Campbell needed as she mowed down the final nine Firebird batters in order. Campbell allowed just three hits and struck out eight while walking none.

“Campbell pitched a really good game against us (catcher Alex Machen) called a good game,” West coach Keith Castner said. “Against a team like Lebanon you’ve got to string together hits and we weren’t able to do that today.”

Alex Walter also smothered the Firebirds with her defense. She had four assists and two putouts, including a diving stab of a line drive at third to end the fifth. Ana Walter added an assist and a putout while going 3-for-4 at the plate — including a triple.

Lebanon’s only defensive breakdowns came in the fourth, as the Warriors committed two errors, leading to West’s only run. But Campbell stranded runners on second and third by striking out the last two batters of the inning.

“That was huge,” Lebanon coach Brian Kindell said. “It’s a totally different ball game down one run as compared to two or three.

“We were hitting the ball well all day, I thought it was just a matter of time. The girls came through. They showed a lot of plate discipline today and when we do that, we’re pretty successful.”

Lebanon (22-6) advances to the Columbus regional to face Teays Valley at Ohio State University on Wednesday, May 27. It is the Warriors’ second straight district championship and third in seven years.

“I’m extremely proud of our athletes and what they’ve accomplished,” Kindell said. “They’ve worked very hard this year and clearly have gotten better over the course of the season.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4526 or shayes@coxohio.com.

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