Estherville-Lincoln Central scored early and held on late for a 2-1 win over East Sac County on Monday in Emmetsburg, advancing to Wednesday’s Class 2A Regional final. The Midgets manufactured a run in the first inning as a result of aggressive base running by Sadie Winter and an error by the Raiders. The second run came in the fifth off back-to-back hits by Emily Kirchner and Morgan Schichtl. East Sac County scored in the sixth before Kendall Bosch pitched out of a jam. Kirchner ended a second threat and the game in the seventh with a diving catch from her shortstop position near the second base bag. ELC is 22-11 heading into the finals where they will play Jefferson-Scranton-Paton-Churdan in Ft. Dodge. JSPC defeated Ft. Dodge St. Edmond 6-5.
Also in Class 2A, Alta-Aurelia beat Western Christian, 7-2, in Alta, qualifying for Wednesday’s regional final in Battle Creek against Missouri Valley.
In Class 1A, Hartley hosted the regional semifinal between West Lyon and West Bend-Mallard, a game that went to the Wildcats, 2-1. West Lyon now takes on Akron-Westfield after their 10-0 defeat of Marcus-Meridan-Cleghorn. That game will be hosted by MOC-Floyd Valley on Wednesday. Cornbelt Conference rivals North Sentral Kossuth/Armstrong-Ringsted and Woden-Crystal Lake-Titonka will square off in the regional finals after wins on Monday. NSK/AR shutout AGWSR, 7-0, while WCLT needed just five innings to take down St. Ansgar, 14-4. Newell-Fonda remains alive in Class 1A following their 9-2 victory over Ar-We-Va, and now plays Earlham on Wednesday.
The Class 3A Regionals saw Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley move pass Algona by an 8-3 final in Spencer Monday. The Nighthawks will see Bishop Heelan on Wednesday in the finals after they defeated Sergeant Bluff-Luton 8-5. That game will be played in LeMars.
