John Bruce, Staff Writer

Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CHILLICOTHE — With Abbie Deeds dealing, Coal Grove was able to get a deep shot to left field from an unexpected source to help gain a measure of revenge over South Webster on Wednesday.
Those two factors helped the Hornets defeat the Jeeps by a 7-4 final in a Division VI district semifinal.
Coal Grove (17-4) returns to a district championship game for the second consecutive season and avenges a 7-2 loss to the Jeeps in last year’s regional semifinal contest.
After mowing down the Jeeps to the tune of three first-inning strikeouts, Deeds led off the Hornets’ half with a walk before advancing on a passed ball.

CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Following a line out, sophomore Izzy Kitts scorched a 1-0 pitch up the middle to score Deeds and give Coal Grove an early advantage.
The Hornet offense finally began to swarm the base paths in the bottom of the fourth as Rylee Black, Mia Haynes and Kendall Taylor strung together consecutive singles to make it a two-run game before sophomore Kasey Vanderhoof stepped to the plate for the biggest swing of her life.
On a 1-0 pitch, Vanderhoof barreled up a fast ball and crushed it over the left-center field fence for a three-run home run, putting the Hornets up 5-0.
“It was awesome,” Vanderhoof said. “My first at-bat wasn’t very good. So I came up with a better mindset. It just felt really good.”
While it may have seemed insurmountable at the time, South Webster showed the heart of a champion in its next trip to the plate — in the fifth.
Sammi Yates led off the inning with an infield single, giving way for Keylea Hightower to come on as a pinchrunner. Following consecutive outs and an Addi Claxon walk, catcher Kaylee House knocked both runners in with a frozen rope into right field for a two-out triple. Brooklynn Piguet then worked a walk before House scored on a wild pitch. Emma Stone then crushed a pitch to right for a run-scoring double as Piguet’s run cut Coal Grove’s lead to 5-4.
“Honestly, it was not my best game at all,” Deeds said. “I’m usually not like that. I started off strong, but then I don’t know what happened. I just had to push through it. Sometimes, you’re going to face adversity and you just have to get through it. It just makes you better.”
That’s, however, as close as the Jeeps would get. Deeds shut down the threat with her 14th strikeout of the game to end the inning.
In the ensuing frame, the Hornets were able to get just enough insurance to push themselves back into the district title game.
With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Black singled before Haynes brought her home with a line-drive double into the right-center field gap. Taylor pushed the lead back to three on a line drive to center, scoring Haynes and providing Deeds with all of the cushion she would need.
“I think we really shut them down and we knew we could win the game,” Deeds said. “Getting those insurance runs just made us more confident. It helped us finish it.”
A pair of walks in the seventh would bring the tying run to the plate for the Jeeps, but a lazy popup on the infield was brought in by Kitts to send the Ohio Valley Conference champions to their 17th victory of the season.
The Jeeps were led offensively by House with her two-run triple and Stone with her RBI double. Jaiden White struck out six in the circle for South Webster. The Jeeps finish the season at 10-12.
Deeds struck out 15 in the win while allowing three earned runs. Black, Haynes and Taylor combined to go 6-for-9 with five runs scored and 3 RBIs while Vanderhoof’s first career home run gave the sophomore 3 RBIs as well.
“It’s really great playing behind Abbie,” Vanderhoof said. “She’s a great pitcher and she’s amazing to play with. I feel really confident in our defense.”
Coal Grove will return to Unioto on Friday to take on Peebles — a winner over Lynchburg-Clay — looking for a second consecutive trip to the Sweet 16. That contest will begin at 6 p.m.
“[A district title] would mean a lot,” Vanderhoof said. “We’ve had a great season and I think we’re definitely good enough to win it. We’re going to be prepared and come in ready to win.”
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