Marley Mast looks to receive the throw from Danika Miller as Marijo Bontrager hustles down the line as the Bandits played the Turtles in Wawasee Summer League tournament softball Thursday night. InkFreeNews photos by Mike Deak

By Mike Deak
InkFreeNews

MILFORD – The stage is set for Championship Saturday in the Wawasee Summer League. Thursday night saw both softball semi-finals played at the Milford ball diamonds, where the final two lines of the bracket were filled in.

Thunder 3, Rockford Peaches 2

The Thunder held off a late rally by the Peaches to storm into the final.

A pair of RBIs by Aubrey Moudy and Kaleigh Corn in the first inning had the Thunder quickly out front 2-0.

Peyton Bartels earned the save for the Thunder, closing out the Peaches in the softball semi-final.

The Peaches pulled one run back in the bottom of the third after Ella Limerick doubled to open the inning, then came home on an Abby Wiley single. Wiley, however, would be stranded at third, one of five occasions in the game the Peaches left runners in scoring position.

The Thunder used a throwing error in the fifth to tack on an insurance run, and it would be key, as the Peaches had Audra Weaver lead off the bottom of the fifth with an inside-the-park homer to slice the lead in half. Limerick would single, but couldn’t get home as the Thunder recorded a strikeout and groundout to advance to the final.

Bandits 11, Turtles 1

A white-hot start for the Bandits was more than enough to keep the squad undefeated heading into the championship.

Danika Miller crushed a run-scoring triple and later Tatum Thorn added a two-run single to highlight a six-run bottom of the first.

Kirra Alvarez added an RBI triple and Reagan Eash smashed a two-run homer during the offensive showcase for the top seed in the tournament.

Marley Mast struck out the side in the first to pace the Bandits in the circle.

The Bandits and Thunder will meet at 10 a.m. Saturday at North Webster’s diamonds to settle the softball championship.

Also playing Saturday will be the minor and major baseball championship games. The Mets and the Reds will meet at noon in the minor final and the Red Sox and Astros will square off in the major final to follow.