Badin handled Greater Catholic League Coed Division rival Roger Bacon for the third time this year, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning and rolling to a 9-2 victory at Kings.
“It was absolutely horrible. The ball was soaking wet, it was covered in mud, but I just dug a little deeper and kept playing through it because I would rather be dead than not play this game,” Ray said. “I could not live with myself if I didn’t play this game.”
Maddie Curtner drove in three runs, Shelby Schmitt had two doubles and an RBI, and Lauren Moser chipped in a two-run double for the Rams. Hannah Broermann tripled, singled and drove in a run, and Lexi Wurzelbacher and Sam Sander notched an RBI apiece.
“The girls did exactly what we wanted them to do. We needed to jump on them right away,” Badin coach Greg Stitzel said. “With the way the conditions were, I thought they did real well.”
The Rams (28-1) will head to Wright State University for a 5 p.m. regional semifinal Thursday against Springfield Northwestern.
“It feels great to repeat, but you know, we’re not done,” Schmitt said. “We’re going to keep going. We’re going to keep fighting hard.”
Badin had outscored Bacon 18-0 in their previous two meetings, but the Spartans were game in Round 3. They collected two hits off Ray in the first inning, one being an RBI double by Ashton Lindner.
Ava Caldwell doubled and scored on an error in the sixth for Bacon (21-6), which got an eight-hit pitching effort from Lindner.
“We started this tournament on a high and took care of what we should’ve, but we knew this was going to be a tough game,” Spartans coach Chuck Lindner said. “The weather didn’t help.
“I thought we would play a little better, but you know what? We came, and we hit her. D-Ray is a great pitcher. All respect for her. I hope they continue to do well. GCL all the way.”
Stitzel made it clear to the umpires and tournament officials that he didn’t want to start the game in the rain. He wanted to go to Plan B, which was come back and play Monday. Lindner preferred to start the contest and go as far as possible because even with the rain, the field was playable.
“Chuck said he wanted the umpires to make the decision,” Stitzel said. “I’d rather play on a beautiful day. The game is not meant to be played in this kind of weather. But it worked out well for us.”
Ray missed the Rams’ first two tournament games because of her surgery. She received medical clearance to return to action this week, but Stitzel planned to play her at first base Friday and go with Nicole Rawlings in the circle.
Stitzel told Rawlings at Thursday’s practice that she would be the starting pitcher. Ray then attended a session with pitching instructor Chris Miner and looked strong.
“I didn’t sleep two winks last night because I had already told Nicole she was going,” Stitzel said. “I called (assistant coach) Jeff (Gray) this morning and talked with him, and I said, ‘We’ve got to go with the senior.’ Nicole’s got two more years to pitch in big games.
“They didn’t know anything about it until we got to the bus. I talked to Nicole about it, and she was fine with it. Nicole was actually sick yesterday and still sick today. It was good that Ray was able to gut it out and throw.”
Ray’s surgery took place May 10. As the term “emergency” would suggest, everything happened quite suddenly.
“I thought I had the flu and woke up the next morning in just excruciating pain,” Ray said. “I just knew I had to go to the hospital, and they took it out within 20 minutes. I was out of the door by 11.”
She had hoped to do some pitching against Madison on Monday, but didn’t have a medical OK and watched the Rams rally for a 4-3 victory.
“I definitely wanted to pitch the last game, but I knew it just wouldn’t be a good idea,” Ray said. “But this game, I knew I had to play through whatever pain I have.”
Did she have any pain while pitching Friday?
“No,” Ray said. “I thought there would be. There’s no pain.”
Badin’s bats helped make it a successful day. The Rams only struck out once against Lindner, totaling five doubles and one triple.
Schmitt, a junior shortstop, said it was a difficult game to play.
“It was awful,” she said. “It was the worst conditions I’ve ever played in, but both teams had to play in it, so it was a good experience for us. It gave us a new environment. We were just trying to stay composed and do what we do and not worry about what’s happening with the field.”
Next up for Badin is the third regional appearance in program history. The Rams were semifinal losers in 1992 and 2015.
“It’s fantastic that we defended our district championship. That’s one of the things we wanted to do,” said Stitzel, noting that the team has tied the school’s single-season victory record (set by the 28-0 boys basketball team in 1988). “Last year, I was real satisfied with getting to the regionals. We got a taste of it last year. Now I want to go farther.”
It’s been a banner year for Bacon as well. Friday’s game represented the Spartans’ first-ever district berth.
“I’m excited and proud of the girls,” Chuck Lindner said. “For as small of a school as we are and what we get to come out, I’m very happy with our season.”
Badin 410-200-2—9-8-2
Roger Bacon 100-001-0—2-5-3
WP — Danielle Ray (17-0); LP — Ashton Lindner (21-6). Records: B 28-1, RB 21-6
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