Heroic pitching effort by Hagerbaumer not enough for Payson Seymour as first-inning run for Triopia stands up

CONCORD, Ill. — Abby Hagerbaumer and a late rally gave the Payson Seymour softball team a puncher’s chance, but Triopia’s Mylee Tracy had other plans.

The two pitchers combined to give up just four hits in Saturday’s Class 1A Triopia Regional championship game, and Tracy escaped a seventh-inning jam to seal a 1-0 victory.

Lucie Dion gave the Trojans a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with a two-out double, then Tracy and Hagerbaumer both silenced the opposition’s bats. The two traded zeros the rest of the way, but the Indians threatened in the top of the seventh. The Indians got runners to first and second with two outs after two walks, but Tracy struck out Madilyn O’Dear to end the game.

Tracy gave up one hit, struck out nine and walked three on 100 pitches. Hagerbaumer gave up three hits, struck out four and did not walk a batter while completing six innings in just 73 pitches.

Top-seeded Triopia (27-7) advances to the Triopia Sectional semifinal against No. 2 seed Havana, which beat Camp Point Central 5-0 on Friday. Payson Seymour concludes its season with a 14-15-1 record.