Salo, Junior Girls Roll Past Nebraska Into Final 4
SOUTH HOLLAND, Ill.----The Delta County Junior Girls (age 13-14) pounded out 17 hits and Gabi Salo pitched as no-hitter as part of a 17-0 win over the Millard Little League out of Omaha, Neb., at the Central Regional Tournament on Tuesday. The only base runner to reach against Salo was in the third inning when the home plate umpire called an illegal pitch, saying that Salo did not "present" the ball as required. Otherwise, Salo struck out all 15 batters she faced in the five-inning game that ended on the mercy rule. In the third inning, the Escanaba-Gladstone girls scored nine times, with Block, Herioux and Hansen all getting RBI singles. Tardiff added a two-run single. In the third inning, Kamin got her third straight hit by smacking an RBI double, and in the fourth inning, Herioux doubled home a run. In the fifth inning, Salo and Georgia Lehto both had RBI singles, and several runs scored on errors. Omaha pitcher Ashley Davis took the loss, pitching four innings. Mae Killeen threw the fifth inning for the Millard Little League, which has a girls program for the first time. For Salo, it was 15 strikeouts, and 12 of those were swinging. Offensively, Delta County got four base hits from Hansen, three from Kamin and Tardiff, and two from Block and Lehto. Herioux had three runs batted in, while Tardiff and Hansen each drove in two runs. Omaha also committed five errors defensively. Delta County advances to the regional semifinal on Wednesday against Melrose Park, Ill. The DC girls beat the Illinois state champions in pool play, 3-0, on Sunday. Wednesday's game starts at 3:00 ET/2:00 CT. It will be broadcast live on WGKL-FM (105.5), WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com. The pre-game show with player interviews starts at 2:30. Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and videos taken by Cheri Lehto. Plus Allison Sommers, Jasmine Clark interviews. |