HILLSBORO —Notre Dame’s Gwen Sparks spent a dozen innings of dealing, then just decided —with one swing of the bat —to put the Titans on the scoreboard.
That’s because the tall senior Sparks pitched all 12 innings at Hillsboro on Thursday, and struck out a massive 27 Indians —en route to Notre Dame’s 2-0 compete-game shutout victory, in which Sparks’ two-run 12th-inning home run was indeed the scoreboard difference.
That’s correct —11 innings of scoreless non-league softball between two of the Southeast District’s top teams, before sophomore Alayla Soard scorched a two-out single, setting up Sparks at the plate.
Sparks, against her pitching counterpart and junior Camryn Spruell, sent a pitch over the fence —scoring Soard and herself.
The Division II and four-time consecutive Frontier Athletic Conference champion Indians didn’t dent Sparks or the scoreboard in the bottom of the 12th —and Notre Dame, the Southeast District’s Division IV top seed with wins already this season over Division II and III squads, raised its stellar record to 19-4.
The Titans tallied seven hits including three by Maddie Entler and two by Sparks —as Sparks’ previous hit before her home run was a double.
Entler also doubled with two singles and two stolen bases, and Lyndsey Schaefer singled as well.
The Titans did leave three stranded against Spruell, who like Sparks pitched all 12 innings and did not walk a batter.
Sparks struck out 27, Spruell struck out 23, both faced 41 batters, as Sparks did hit one Hillsboro hitter —that being Halle Reveal.
Sparks fired 182 pitches with 118 for strikes, as Spruell threw 150 pitches —122 of which went for strikes.
The Titans only committed one error behind Sparks, who only gave up one hit and two walks to Spruell.
Isabelle Brunck had the Indians’ only hit, as Hillsboro left five runners on base.
Earlier in the week, on Monday to be exact, the Titans defeated East 15-1 to complete Southern Ohio Conference Division I play at 8-0 —and wrap up their fifth straight SOC I championship, with now 48 league wins in a row.
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