MDCC PLAYOFFS: Shalom Christian advances to championship in both soccer and baseball
MARION >> Within the first 12 minutes of the Mason-Dixon Christian Conference girls soccer semifinal, Shalom Christian already had a stranglehold on the game.
The Flames jumped out to a two-goal lead early, tacked on an insurance tally in the second half and defeated Calvary Christian, 3-1, on Thursday evening.
Shalom will play Grace Academy in the championship, which will be held at the Winebrenner Theological Seminary in Scotland on Monday at 5 p.m.
Kendall White got things started for Shalom (15-0), scoring off a corner kick from Lexy Poe. Just six minutes later, Brooke Emge followed on a shot from Tori Yoder and popped it in the back of the net for the second score.
Emge also scored the final goal for the Flames, and Yoder collected the assist. The Flames out-shot Calvary, 22-12, and had 10 corner kicks. The Eagles didn't get a single corner opportunity.
"We dominated the game, but were not able to finish on many of our chances tonight," Shalom coach Pete Holdaway said. "Logan Ketterman also made some nice point-blank saves to keep the game close."
Makenzi Maun had seven saves in net for the Flames.
"Our defense held up well again, playing together as a unit," Holdaway said. "Lydia Harris and Bethany Blank played well at midfield for us today."
Shalom Christian 3 Calvary Christian 1
Calvary Chr.01—1Shalom Chr.21—3
First half — (SC) Kendall White, asst. Lexy Poe, 5th min., (SC) Brooke Emge, asst. Tori Yoder, 11th.
Second half — (SC) Emge, asst. Yoder, 54th, (Cal) Chesni Ultis, 80th.
Shots — Cal 12, SC 22; Corner kicks — Cal 0, SC 10; Saves — Cal 15 (Logan Ketterman), SC 7 (Makenzi Maun 7, Caley Etter 0).
Baseball
SHALOM CHRISTIAN 5, HERITAGE 3 >> After giving up a pair of runs in first inning, Shalom Christian battled its way to a victory over Heritage Academy in the Mason-Dixon Christian Conference semifinals.
Shalom will play in the championship on Monday at Greene Township Park in Scotland at 5:30 p.m. against Grace Academy.
Daniel Watkins got things started for the Flames (9-6) in the third inning with a solo home run, and Shalom kept the momentum going with four runs in the fifth.
"Daniel Watkins hitting the solo home run was a big lift to get the bats going," Flames coach Shawn Musick said.
The Flames totaled 11 hits and got a fine outing from Colby Maun, who fired a four-hitter. He struck out six in the complete-game victory.
"Colby Maun played a great game with help from the entire defense," Musick said. "We were able to play both sides of the ball tonight against a well-managed team and tough team that doesn't make mistakes. We put the bat on the ball and scored some runs on the offensive side while settling down after the first inning on defense to hold them to three runs."
Shalom Christian 5 Heritage Academy 3
Shalom Chr.0010410—511Heritage2000010—34
W — Colby Maun; L — David Fisler.
2B — (SC) Kerland Ebersole, (H) David Shank, Nate Patey; HR — (SC) Daniel Watkins.