By Alex Schillig
Regional Correspondent

NEWARK, OH – Licking Valley’s late inning heroics allows the Panthers to advance in the state tournament.

Two strong arms took the mound in this sectional final matchup. Licking Valley High School brought sophomore Drew Morrison to the mound, and London High School had Zach Carey take the hill.

In the top of the first, London looked to score the first run of the game when Zach Carey and Kyle Fisher both singled to start the inning. The Red Raider bats were held down as Drew Morrison induced three easy outs, dodging what could have been a multi-run inning.

Notching the board first was Licking Valley in the bottom of the 2nd. It started when Justin Holman reached by error, and came around to score when junior Craig Prince stroked an RBI single.

The Red Raider lineup quickly responded in the top of the 3rd. Junior Austin Smith smacked an opposite field double, scoring Zach Carey who walked earlier in the inning. Cleanup hitter Roger Pack also got into the act when he hit an RBI single scoring Smith giving London a 2-1 lead.

At this point both pitchers settled in keeping the opposing lineups off balance. No more runs were scored going into the 7th inning.

Carey, who had a one hitter through six innings, needed just three outs for his team to advance in the state tournament.

The 7th inning brought a little luck to the Licking Valley squad. With one out, Craig Prince reached by error, igniting the Panther lineup. Nine-hole hitter, Derek Carr doubled putting the tying and winning run in scoring position. London intentionally walked the bases loaded to create a force at any base. This brought shortstop Tyler Nethers to the plate. The sophomore came through with a bloop single over the shortstops head, allowing Prince and Carr to score for a walk-off win.

Drew Morrison was awarded the complete game victory, and will take on Bishop Watterson next week.

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