Kelsey McMullen gave up three hits in the shutout win (Photo credit: A.J. Devine)
“[McMullen] is a pretty determined girl, she wants to get a third sectional title,” Raiders manager Dan Dickens said.
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As has been the case for much of the season, Cal-Mum was able to get out to an early lead, giving breathing room to McMullen and the rest of the defense. In the bottom of the first with two outs, senior third baseman Courtney Flagler got on base with a bloop single, and McMullen was able to drive her home on a double to left field. Junior catcher Halle Platten followed that up with another hit, moving McMullen to third. Junior outfielder Sasha Flint then hit a 2-RBI single to open a 3-0 lead.
“Anytime you put something together with two outs, that’s really going to help you,” Dickens said.
Anderson widened the gap in the second inning with her two-run shot, and McMullen recorded her second RBI of the day a few batters later with another double.
“We wanted to wait until [Perry junior pitcher Erica Kramarz] threw strikes,” Dickens said. “She likes to live on the outside part of the plate. I thought when we were disciplined up there we had good at-bats.”
The Raiders put the game out of reach in a five-run fifth inning when junior first baseman Emma Hallett, freshman second baseman Gillian Flint, and Anderson had consecutive RBI hits with two outs, followed later in the inning by McMullen recording two more RBI with a single up the middle.
McMullen, who has pitched every inning of these sectional playoffs for Cal-Mum, had six strikeouts and allowed just three hits to a Yellow Jackets team that had scored 90 runs in 19 games coming into Tuesday. Dickens estimates that the senior captain has now played over 100 varsity games in her career with the Raiders.
#1 seeded Cal-Mum (17-2) will play #10-seed Cuba-Rushford in the sectional final game on Thursday. Cal-Mum has beaten Cuba-Rushford each of the last two years in sectional finals matchups.