LEWISBURG — Emily Norris threw a one-hit shutout to lead Tri-County North by Tri-Village 10-0, in 5-innings, Thursday, May 10, in the second round of the Division IV sectional softball tournament.
With the win, North (19-3) advances to its first sectional final since 2015. The No. 2 seeded Panthers were scheduled to play No. 3 seed Bradford on Tuesday, May 15, at Greenville. North bested the Railroaders, 2-0, in an early season match-up. The winner will advance to the district final which will be played either Friday, May 18 or Saturday, May 19 against the Cincinnati 2 sectional winner. The game features Felicity Franklin and Cincinnati Christian.
North secured the victory thanks to eight runs in the second inning. Sidney Jackson, Taylor Green, Riley Cruse, Kaitlin Heindl, Avery Shank, and Lexi Delong all contributed in the big inning with RBIs as the Panthers built a 9-0 lead.
Cruse, who had four RBIs on the night, drove in a run in the first when she doubled and she homered in the second.
North added its final run in the bottom of the fifth to end the game.
Norris earned the victory in the pitcher’s circle tossing five innings, allowing one hit while striking out five.
North totaled 13 hits in the game. Morgan Helman, Cruse, Hailey Stupp and Heindl each had multiple hits.
