No. 2 Northern comes back to beat No. 6 Southern, 4-2, in region semis

ACCIDENT — Sometimes you have to make your own luck.

Southern, fresh off an upset of Fort Hill in the region quarters, was primed to pull off another over Northern after Adeline Wilson — in the midst of a shutout in the circle — gave herself the support she needed with a two-run no-doubt home run over the center-field fence in the top of the sixth.

Northern got the break it needed when a two-out error in the bottom of the frame resulted in the tying run crossing home, and Ava Wilhlem made the mistake hurt with a two-run single to give the Huskies the lead for good.

It wasn't pretty, but No. 2 seed Northern was opportunistic late. With Rain Ritchey hurling a 16-strikeout dandy, it was enough to get past No. 6 seed Southern, 4-2, in a Class 1A West Region I semifinal on Monday.

"I thought that Rain pitched well obviously," Northern head coach Kadi Cosgrove said. "I think that the middle to the bottom of our lineup showed up today and put balls in play when we needed balls in play, and we had a big two-out rally at the end."

Northern (13-7) advances to the region final where it'll take on No. 1 seed Allegany (18-1) on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.

Southern started the year 0-3 and carried a record below .500 the entire season, finishing 10-12, but the Rams peaked at the right time and nearly made a run to the final.

"Ade Wilson laid it on the line," Southern skipper Amber Hill said. "(We had) 16 strikeouts, she puts us on the board with two. There's no other way to put it. This is the definition of her hard work, her dedication, her determination, and her drive. Definition of, she didn't want the season to end."

Wilson and Ritchey went toe-to-toe in the circle, spinning five shutout frames each to start. Southern had a 2-1 edge in hits entering the sixth.

Trailing 2-0 after Wilson's big fly, Northern put two one-out runners on base in the sixth after an error and a Demi Ross infield single. Ross, signed to Lock Haven, led the Huskies with two hits.

A wild pitch put the runners into scoring position with two outs, and Camilya Burley's routine ground ball to the right side made it under a fielder's glove to let two score.

Marisa Perez followed with a single, and Wilhelm lined an 0-2 pitch up the middle for what proved to be the winning knock.

"It seems like they're kind of coming alive," Cosgrove said of the middle and bottom of Northern's lineup.

Ritchey slammed the door by striking out the side in the seventh, her third time doing so, to finish off a complete-game gem. The right-hander allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits with 16 strikeouts to two walks in seven innings.

Wilson, who is signed to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, was tabbed with the loss, though none of her four runs on four hits in six innings were earned. She struck out five and walked none.

"This is her senior season. She wanted the ball in the circle," Hill said of Wilson. "She absolutely locked in. She was determined ... It is one inning, and it never failed. That one inning continued to eat us alive."