YATES CENTER — Yates Center High’s potent offensive attack has the Wildcats in the state tournament.
The Wildcats rolled to victories of 17-2 over Flinthills and 13-6 over Uniontown in Tuesday’s Class 2-1A Regional Tournament. The wins put Yates Center (18-4) in the 2-1A state tournament, which begins May 29 in Great Bend.
The only trepidation came in the championship game, after Uniontown scored five in the top of the third to erase a 5-0 Yates Center lead.
The Wildcats responded with two in the bottom of the fourth without collecting a hit, courtesy of three Uniontown errors.
The hits came an inning later. Courtney Arell smacked an RBI double before Aubrey Smith followed with a three-run shot to center, pushing the lead to 11-5. Chessa Chrisman followed two batters later with another home run, a two-run shot.
That was after Arell and Smith hit back-to-back two-run doubles, followed by an RBI single from Hailie Green, to give Yates Center a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the second.
Uniontown promptly evened the score, including Torrie Hathaway’s three-run homer, in the third.
Smith picked up the win, gving up 12 hits and three earned runs in seven innings. She struck out eight without a walk.
Smith went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a home run. Emily Proper rapped out three singles. Arell doubled twice. Chrisman added a home run, while Green, Shayna Karmann and Jessica Rossillon each had singles.
THE WILDCATS had little trouble against Flinthills in the opener, scoring seven in the first and six in the second. Flinthills scored twice in the third against Smith, who surrendered five hits in three innings. She struck out five. Like the win over Uniontown, she didn’t walk a batter.
Meanwhile, Arell had a grand slam and single, with five RBIs to pace the Wildcat offense. Sabrina Arell and Karmann both had two doubles and singles in three at bats. Smith had three hits, including a double. Chrisman tripled. Proper singled.
