It has been 70 days since the Strafford Lady Indians won a state title in basketball.
Now they will get a chance to win championship in softball.
Zoey Mullings threw a complete-game two-hitter and Strafford’s offense gave the junior pitcher all the support she needed as the Lady Indians claimed a 2-0 win against Kennett in a Class 1 semifinal game on Saturday afternoon at Killian Sports Complex.
“This is really special,” Mullings said. “We’ve gone to state in basketball twice and I’ve always wanted to go in softball.”
Mullings will get her wish when Strafford (24-1) takes on Purdy (27-1) at noon Sunday at Killian Sports complex.
The Lady Indians’ lone loss this season occurred March 20 – nine days after Strafford claimed a state title in basketball — when Purdy came away with a 6-2 victory in the Mount Vernon Tournament. Strafford responded by beating the Eagles, 6-4, to win the tournament March 23.
It wasn’t until after Strafford posted a perfect 32-0 record on the hardwood that Mullings started thinking about softball.
“I actually started right when basketball ended,” Mullings said. “It was really hard for me to get in a pitching groove, because I haven’t been pitching for a while.”
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Now Mullings appears to be at her strongest after striking out 13 and walking one to improve to 15-1 on the year. She was at her best through the first three innings Saturday when 36 of her 43 pitches were called strikes.
“She pitched probably the best game I’ve seen her pitch all year, for sure,” Strafford coach Dale Bean said. “All her pitches were there. She was absolutely phenomenal today.”
The Lady Indians, who have seven batters in their lineup with at least 60 at-bats hitting above .350, scored their first run in unconventional fashion.
Brooke Bishop led off the bottom of the first with a bloop single to left and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Two-hole hitter Rilie Vote reached on an error, bringing in Bishop to give Strafford a 1-0 lead.
It took the Lady Indians’ offense some time to strike again, but Mullings and the Lady Indians defense remained steady.
“She was working ahead and that’s what she tries to do,” first baseman Hayley Frank said. “Her pitches were working, so we just had to rally behind her and get the job done.”
The Lady Indians did just that.
Mullings took a no-hitter into the fourth before Sydni McAtee led off the frame with a single. Mullings struck out the next batter and walked the next to put runners at first and second with one out.
Strafford’s defense was there to help.
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Kennett’s fourth batter of the inning hit a hard ground ball to Bishop at shortstop. The senior tagged the lead runner before tossing the ball to Vote at second. The second baseman made an accurate throw to first to complete the double play and get the Lady Indians out of the jam.
“Hitting my spots is definitely the thing, and just having my defense behind me,” Mullings said. “I knew if they hit it, the defense would be there to get it.”
That wasn’t the first time Mullings relied on the Strafford defense.
Kamryn Nelson led off the fifth for Kennett with a single before stealing second with no outs. Mullings struck out the next batter, who reached first on a passed ball on the third strike. Mullings struck out the next two batters before getting some more help from her teammates.
With two outs, and runners at the corners, Bishop made a back-handed play in the hole and made the throw to first. Frank was on the other end to complete the play with a pick at first base to end the inning.
“Brooke has great range and has a great arm,” Bean said. “That was huge. It was a bang-bang play, and I’m glad it went our way. That was a huge turning point in the game.”
Kennett didn’t reach base again and Strafford’s bats started to come alive.
Vote led off the bottom of the sixth with a single, and Mullings followed with a double off the wall in centerfield. That set the stage for Frank, who brought in Vote with an RBI groundout to give the Indians a 2-0 lead.
“We always work on if we have runners on third that we’re trying to go to the right side of the field,” Frank said. “I was just trying to get a solid hit.”
Mullings took care of the rest with a perfect inning in the top of the seventh to send Strafford to another championship.
“We’ve still got one more game to play, but it feels really good to be the last team and to play the last game of the season,” Bean said.
