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HIGH SCHOOL-OHIO

Milford wins 1st-ever league softball championship

Shawn Sell
CIN

MILFORD – Milford High School freshman Valerie Thompson lined a bases-loaded single to center field in the bottom of the seventh inning, pushing Milford to a 4-3 win over Glen Este in a battle for the Eastern Cincinnati Conference Softball Championship May 7.

The victory gave the Eagles their first conference softball championship in school history.

In a seesaw battle, Milford rallied to tie the score in the bottom of the sixth before pushing across the game winner in the seventh. Freshman Kelsey Seitz reached on a one-out error and moved to second on a walk by Shelby Kirk. After a passed ball moved up both runners, Glen Este intentionally walked Devon Johnson setting the stage for Thompson.

Thompson, who started the year as a junior varsity pitcher, also picked up the victory in the circle, striking out 11 Trojans en route to her fourth win of the year. Milford improved to 19-4 overall and finished the ECC schedule 11-1, while Glen Este slipped to 16-6 and 10-2 in league play.

Milford got off the right foot with RBI singles in the first and second innings by Seitz and Hannah Meenach, respectively. Glen Este got one of the markers back in the top of the fourth on a Sarah Chelsey run-scoring single. The Trojans marched into the lead in the fifth, taking advantage of a hit batter and an error to go up 3-2 on a two-run single by Bailey Miller.

Things took a strange turn in the bottom of the sixth with a bizarre play allowing Milford to tie the game. Hannah White led off with a single and pinch runner Amanda Zanola was standing on third following a sacrifice and wild pitch. With Meenach at the plate, Glen Este catcher Miller overshot pitcher Brooke Parker on a return throw to the circle. When the ball sailed into centerfield, Zanola darted home to tie the score at 3-3.

Thompson, in just her 11th varsity game, finished 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI and surrendered six hits to the Glen Este offense. Parker collected two hits on offense for Glen Este and recorded six strikeouts in the loss.