The No. 4 seed Western Brown Lady Broncos advanced to round two of the Southwest District Division I Sectional Tournament with their 11-1 win over No. 29 seed St. Ursula at Western Brown on May 10.
The Lady Broncos stood at an overall record of 22-1 after Monday’s sectional win and were scheduled to host No. 15 seed Mt. Notre Dame (9-9) in round two on Wednesday, May 12.
A win on Wednesday would advance the Lady Broncos to the sectional finals at Princeton High School on May 17 to face the winner of the sectional semifinal game between No. 5 seed Oak Hills (17-6) and No. 16 seed Seton (9-6).
The Lady Broncos wrapped up their regular season with a perfect 10-0 record in Southern Buckeye Athletic/Academic Conference American Division play to capture the program’s eighth straight league title.
As of May 11, Western Brown senior McKenna Conley was leading the way in batting average in the SBAAC with a .713 average, recording 57 hits in 80 at-bats. She also had eight home runs on the season.
Western Brown’s sophomore pitcher Lexi Sutton was second in the SBAAC in wins as of May 11 with 20 on the season, only one win behind Williamsburg senior Madi Ogden.
The Western Brown single-season RBI record continues to rise for Western Brown senior Peyton Young, who led the SBAAC in RBIs with 61 following their win over St. Ursula.
Young was also the home run leader in the SBAAC as of May 11 with 18 on the season.
The Lady Broncos have managed to stay on track while adapting to changes in the line-up due to some key players suffering injuries.
“I am extremely proud of this team,” said Western Brown head softball coach Blaine Wallace. “We have lost two players to season ending injuries. They would have batted 4th and 5th in the lineup. That is a huge loss to any team. We challenged the rest of our team that everyone had to play better to make up for the injuries. Our kids have done that.”
After falling shy of their goal in post season tournament play in 2019, the Lady Broncos are looking to take care of business this spring. During the regular season they faced off against some exceptional non-league competition to help prepare them for the post season, and their confidence grew following their 3-2 win over North Ridgeville, ranked the 10th Division I team in the state at that time.
“We are excited for tournament play. We have some unfinished business from two years ago. We are playing well at the right time of the year and need that to continue. The victory over North Ridgeville should give us confidence that we can play with the best team in the state,” said Wallace.
The Lady Broncos were ranked as the fifth Division I team in the state in the week four Ohio High School Softball Coaches Poll.
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