"Chloe pitched the first two innings," Covington coach Dean Denlinger said. "They were hitting her pretty good, so we thought we'd change things up by bringing in Casey and switching the two in and out. But Casey was on, so we kept her in the game."

Yingst pitched the final five innings, allowing just one hit to the 17 batters she faced. Only two Riverside runners reached base with Yingst on the mound, one with a hit and one by an error.

"For a sophomore who has pitched just 16 innings all year to come into a district championship game and do what she did, that's pretty darn impressive," said Denlinger of Yingst. "She pitched very well, kept her composure and had command of her pitches."

Yingst had plenty of help behind her as the Lady Buccs put together and impressive defensive effort, which included a diving catch by Aubrye Cain at second and a heads up play by Heidi Snipes at shortstop to record the final out of the game.

"You get to this point in the season and there aren't many blowout games," Denlinger explained. "At this level it's all about defense and we played a great defensive game today."

And Chloe Shell was in the mix as she took over at first base while Yingst was on the mound.

"Chloe is a team player and that's senior leadership," said Denlinger. "I'm sure the competitive side of her wanted to stay on the mound, but she did her job. That's what you need in games like this."

Riverside opened the game with a double and then scored on a base hit to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

Covington, who left 12 runners on base throughout the contest, couldn't get the big hit to put points on the board until the bottom of the fourth.

Shell started things off by reaching base on a walk with one out and was replaced by Kirsten Boyer as a pinch runner. Boyer immediately stole second and then freshman Halley Adams singled to move Boyer to third.

Adams stole second and Jessie Shilt reached on an error that scored Boyer from third.

The final run of the inning came on an RBI single by Aubrye Cain that scored Adams.

"Halley Adams has been huge for us," said Denlinger. "You think, she's been hurt most of the season and this is just her eighth game back. We lost Brittanie (Flora) earlier in the week and Halley has stepped up for us."

It was needed as Covington had difficulty scoring runs, even though there were base runners in virtually every inning. Twice Covington had the bases loaded and couldn't get the big hit it needed.

"We were one hit away from breaking the game open," Denlinger said. "We did some things at the plate and base running that is uncharacteristic of this team."

Still, Yingst was in command on the mound and the defense didn't give Riverside any opportunities to get back into the game.

"I'm proud of the way he girls stuck together and battled," said Denlinger. "We have to stay focused and take it one game at a time. It will be nice to have a day off tomorrow and come back Monday and get ready for Fort Loramie on Wednesday."

Which will be the regional semi-final in Tipp City.

SCORING BY INNINGS:
Riverside .........1..0..0..0..0..0..0 - 1 - 4 - 1
Covington ........0..0..0..2..0..0..x - 2 - 8 - 1

WP - Casey Yingst