BRIMFIELD — A sister act helped send Brimfield/Elmwood to the Sweet Sixteen.
Sawyer Drury tossed a gem, while younger sister, Teagan Drury, got the scoring started as the host Indians beat Peoria Notre Dame, 6-1, in a Class 2A softball sectional semifinal on Wednesday, May 27. Brimfield/Elmwood (28-5) now faces Port Byron Riverdale (27-4) at 4:30 p.m. Friday, May 29 in the Brimfield Sectional final.
“She hits,” Sawyer said. “I pitch. It works out, right?”
The Creighton signee struck out 13, walked none and gave up five hits as she improved to 15-3.
“We knew that they were going to be a good team coming into this (game),” she said. “… We just had to come in. Make sure we were locked in and know what we were doing and trust our team and our skills.”
Teagan Drury brought her offense early as B/E advances to the Sweet Sixteen in back-to-back seasons. The sophomore roped a double to right, scoring Schyer Meinders for a 1-0 lead in the top of the second.
That was the first of two hits by Teagan, who bats in the seven hole as the designated player.
“I really just think we try and support our pitcher as much as possible,” the younger sister said, “because she’s working real hard on the mound.
“… It’s really special to me that I get to play this last season with her.”
Five separate players drove in runs over the next two innings including Layla Hersemann, Reese Legaspi, Sawyer Drury and Meinders. Anja Nelson’s RBI triple made it 5-1 in the fourth.
“I put a whole lot of trust in my team,” Sawyer Drury said, “and I’m glad that I do.
“Our goal this year was to take it one play, one game at a time and really just focus on our team and ourselves and not worry about the next game after this. Just focus on the game we are playing right now.”
PND (19-16) got its lone run in the third inning thanks to Lexi Dallinger-Eaker’s RBI single scoring Mady Gibson. Lexi Dallinger-Eaker finished 2-for-3, while striking out seven, walking one and giving up 12 hits.
The Irish were playing in their first sectional in 13 years.
“Our bats were cold today,” PND coach Michelle Baker said, “and we weren’t able to bring in the runners that we needed to bring in like we had in the past.
“… Sawyer’s a great pitcher. She had us off today. We just weren’t able to catch up on her and produce the runs we needed to.”
Kendyl Binder (2-for-4, two doubles), Teagan Drury (2-for-4), Hersemann (2-for-4) and Legaspi (3-for-4) all had multiple hits for Brimfield/Elwmood.
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Sisters help Brimfield/Elmwood reach the Sweet 16 in IHSA softball
Reporting by Adam Duvall, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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