Triton’s Taytum Hargrave smiles after recording the final out for the Lady Trojans, while teammate Crystal Brown and Argos’ Katelyn Dean jog back in the Sectional 51-opener in Bourbon Tuesday night. (Photos by James Costello)

BOURBON — It’s been a trying year for Triton softball. The Lady Trojans have had to fight for everything they’ve gotten, and Tuesday’s Class A Sectional 51-opener was no exception.

It wasn’t always pretty but a win is a win, and the Trojans definitely earned it, rallying from a 3-0 deficit with a big, five-run third en route to a 7-3 win over Argos at home in Bourbon. Triton advances to play LaCrosse — a 4-2 winner over Culver Community in the late quarterfinal Tuesday — in a 6 p.m. semifinal tonight.

“Nothing has come easy for this team all year. It’s been tough, but they’ve hung in there and we’re just about squeezing everything we can out of them,” said Triton coach Steve McBride. “We really are. We just wanted to win tonight, and we wanted to play tomorrow night. And we did that.

“I’m really proud of them because they could’ve cashed it in.”

Locked in a scoreless stalemate through two innings, the Dragons struck first in the top of the third, stretching a pair of hits, an error and two wild pitches into three runs.

Dylanie Miller throws to first from her knees for an out in a highlight play in the top of the fifth.

Designated player Shella Ahlemeyer coaxed a lead-off walk from Triton starter Nicky Sechrist, Katelyn Dean advanced her with a sacrifice bunt, and Morgan Dunlap drove Ahlemeyer in battling back from an 0-2 count with a hard grounder down the first baseline. Macee Strycker singled into shallow left, a throwing error from short on a grounder by Leslie Cather loaded the bags with only one out, and a wild pitch scored Dunlap and advanced both Strycker and Cather. Strycker scored on another wild pitch before Sechrist could work her way all the way out of the jam, and the Trojans trailed 3-0 headed into the bottom half of the inning but got a run back on the legs of star center fielder Taytum Hargrave, who lined into center, stole second, then third and scored on a passed ball at the plate.

The score remained 3-1 until Triton’s big fifth.

It was Sara Stevens who drew a lead-off walk by Dean batting in the bottom of the order for the Trojans in that inning, and Hargrave’s double down the left field line put both in scoring position. Stevens scored on a Crystal Brown ground-out to short, while Hargrave advanced to third, then scored in turn on a dropped third strike to Kaci Pugh, who was subbed in for Alyxia Viers with two strikes. Pugh was thrown out at second on a Sechrist fielder’s choice ball to short, but the senior pitcher promptly stole second and took third too when a late throw to second from the plate to catch her sailed errant into the outfield. Maci Irvine drove Sechrist in with a single through the gap at short, Dylanie Miller ripped a run-scoring double into right-center to score Irvine, and Jaelyn Bules kept the rally going with a hard-hit RBI single off Stycker’s glove at third. Skyla Wilson blooped out to third, but the Trojans had taken a relatively comfortable, 6-3 lead with that big fifth frame.

“We had to get people on. For the first part of the game, we couldn’t get anybody on, or if we did, there were two outs,” explained McBride of the fifth. “All the years I’ve coached, when we’ve played in the sectional, we just go for it. We play to win; we don’t play not to lose. That’s the way we have to play, and sometimes we’re going to look pretty bad. We’ve got to catch a break now and then.”

Taytum Hargrave steals third while Argos’ Macee Strycker waits for the throw.

Hargrave added another run in the sixth for a little extra insurance, stole second and then never stopped rounding third after collecting her fourth stolen base of the night, scratching out the game’s final run on a Brown bunt back to the pitcher. Hargrave, a University of Ohio recruit who McBride calls likely the best softball player Triton has ever had, finished 3 for 4 with a double, three runs scored and the four stolen bases in a galvanizing offensive performance for the Trojans Tuesday. Her catch of a Dean fly to center handed Argos the game’s final out, as the two-year All-State nominee survived to wear the Triton blue at least one more day.

“Hargrave is our catalyst. They don’t come around here too often like that,” said McBride.

“I’m telling you, I’m just a fan. I just enjoy watching her play. It’s a treat. I get one more game to watch her play, and hopefully we keep going.”

Sechrist did a yeoman’s job in the circle for Triton, meanwhile, striking out five while giving up just two walks and three hits. The erstwhile short stop, moved onto the rubber to replace pitcher Whytnie Stevens after the latter was injured in the last game of the basketball season, showed poise after the tough third, allowing just two more Dragons to reach base over the remaining four frames.

“Sechrist pitched for us and did an animal of a job. She’s not a pitcher, but she’s our pitcher,” said McBride. “I thought it was a good game for her, and we need that.”

Dean gave up nine hits with three walks and three strikeouts going the distance in the circle for Argos. Dunlap finished with a hit, a run and an RBI, and Strycker recorded a hit and a run scored. Hailey Lagenour had the Dragons’ only other hit against Sechrist, and Ahlemeyer scored the team’s other run.

While Triton survives to play LaCrosse in tonight’s opener at 6 p.m., South Central and West Central play a bye game in the late semifinal. The championship is slated for 7 p.m. Thursday.

Nicky Sechrist throws a pitch in the fourth inning.