Saluda beats Ninety Six 10-3 to win Region 2-AA softball title

                Newberry – The Saluda High School softball team clinched the Region 2-AA championship with a 10-3 victory over Ninety Six on Wednesday in a special playoff game at the Newberry High School field.

               With the victory, the Tigers improved to 18-3 on the season. They will be the No. 1 seed in the District 2 tournament of the upper state playoffs. That means they will be the host team for any of the first five games in the district tournament. SHS will play the No. 4 team from Region 3 in the first round of the double-elimination tournament on May 1.

               Saluda won the region title in a region that includes defending upper state champion Mid-Carolina after finishing fourth last season. The Tigers finished with just an 8-17 record but did go to the championship round of its district tournament.

              Saluda, Ninety Six and Mid-Carolina all finished with 6-2 region records to finish in a 3-way tie. A tiebreaker determined Saluda and Ninety Six would play the special playoff game to determine the region champion.

               “This means a lot to our girls and our program,” said SHS head coach Hannah Towery. “We never got defeated and we always bounced back. The girls have changed the culture of Saluda softball.”

Saluda was the visiting team on Wednesday, and the game was tied 1-1 after the first inning. However, the Tigers scored twice in the second for a 3-1 lead. They took control of the with three runs in the fourth and another in the fifth to make it 7-1. After Ninety Six scored twice in the sixth to cut the deficit to four, SHS put up three runs in the seventh for the final score.

               Saluda had 12 hits and was led by Jayme Sheaffer, who was 3-for-5 with a run batted in. Jana Pou was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, and Ella Gentry was 2-for-5 with two RBI.

               Taylor Wideman had a double and scored two runs, Hannah Mills had a hit and two runs, Tamia Daniels had a double, a run and an RBI, Sam Minnick had a double, Karen Almarez had a hit and an RBI and Amy Sorcia scored two runs.

               Minick threw a complete game in the circle, scattering five hits. She struck out six and walked two.

               The Wildcats, who dropped to 11-5, were led by Evie Montgomery with two hits. Brooke Coster, Olivia Coster and Jocelyn Coleman each had a hit. Montgomery, Coleman and Brooke Coster each scored a run, and Oliva Coster and Katie Fortner each had an RBI.

               Meghan Kimberling went the distance in the circle for Ninety Six. While she allowed the 10 runs, only one was earned as four errors were committed behind her.

               Ninety Six will be playing in the District 4 tournament and will open at home against the No. 3 team from Region 3 on May 1.

               Towery praised the team’s three seniors – Minick, catcher Pou and third baseman Gentry – for their leadership. All three were All-Region selections and Minick, who has signed with Newberry College, was All-State.

               “Going into the year, the seniors set the standard,” Towery said. “They believed in themselves, they believed in their teammates, and they believed in me. They bought into everything we were doing.”