PLEASANT HILL — The Greenville Lady Wave continued their tournament run with a 3-0 win over the Tippecanoe Lady Red Devils, advancing to the Elite Eight and the regional championship game behind a no-hit shutout from sophomore Ella Oswalt.
The win over the Miami Valley League opponent gave Greenville its third victory of the season over Tippecanoe and marked the program’s fourth 30-win season under veteran head coach Jerrod Newland.
“Great day for Lady Wave Softball,” Newland said. “Love it.”
After four scoreless innings, Greenville broke through in the bottom of the fifth. Kara Blumenstock singled with one out, Rielynn Davidson drew a full-count walk, and freshman catcher Jordyn McMullen drove a run-scoring double to center to plate Blumenstock with the game’s first run.
Freshman Hallee Fourman followed with an RBI sacrifice fly to left, scoring Davidson. Greenville then added its third run on a squeeze bunt from Leah Force, who pushed up that dropped over the pitcher’s head, allowing pinch runner Payton Fourman to cross the plate.
“We finally, the second time through, adjusted, and we got it going,” Newland said. “We finally adjusted at the plate to hit her pitching a little bit.”
Oswalt made the three-run lead stand, keeping Tippecanoe out of the hit column the entire night. The Lady Red Devils threatened in the second inning after back-to-back Greenville errors put runners on first and second, but the Lady Wave escaped the inning on a lineout to senior second baseman Lily Brubaker.
“Our league gets us ready,” Newland said. “Very excited for the opportunities we have, and you find a way. Played average today, but bottom line is — Ella, hats off. She kept us in it. Great job. 3-0 Greenville, moving on, Elite Eight.”
The shutout was Greenville’s 20th of the season. The Lady Wave pitching staff now owns four perfect games and six no-hitters this year, while Greenville has outscored opponents 321-31.
Greenville has not allowed a run in tournament play on its way to the regional championship game. The victory also puts the Lady Wave in their 12th regional final in Newland’s 23 seasons leading the program.
“Good team, they made every play, didn’t have an error,” Newland said of Tippecanoe. “The wind was tough here today; it’s a terrible hitter’s day, and it’s regional softball. They’re a great team, hats off to them. They won a district title, and they’re in the Sweet 16.”
Newland said the Lady Wave had to manufacture offense on a day when hits were difficult to come by.
“We had to do everything we could to scratch anything out today,” he said. “We were a crisp ‘C’ game. We had to make something happen.”
The squeeze bunt from Force proved to be one of the game’s key plays.
“That’s old man’s punch play,” Newland said. “We knew how they were playing defense — if she could get it down, it would be there. It probably works one out of 10 times, but it worked and makes us look good.”
Greenville advances as the state’s No. 2 Division III team. With the undefeated No. 1 Dover Lady Crimson Tornadoes falling 3-2 to Bloom-Carroll in another regional semifinal, the Lady Wave are now the highest-ranked team remaining in the Division III tournament.
“We were flat but great game,” Newland said. “They lose, and Dover lost — it’s regional softball.”
BOX SCORE:
123 456 7 R H E
000 000 0 0 0 0 Tippecanoe
000 030 X 3 5 3 Greenville
