‘This is for them’: Henry-Senachwine wins first sectional championship

ALPHA - With Henry-Senachwine senior Lauren Harbison on second base and two outs in the top of then fifth inning, senior Kaitlyn Anderson was intentionally walked for the second time Friday.

Before heading to first base, Anderson stepped back toward the dugout to encourage her sister, Mallards’ cleanup hitter Brynna Anderson, to hit the ball hard.

“I have confidence in her and that was my way of telling her I believed in her,” Kaitlyn Anderson said.

Brynna Anderson, who called her sister “my biggest supporter, hit a hard line drive to shallow left-center field.

West Central centerfielder Becca Hinshaw dove as the ball sank toward the ground, but it tipped off her glove.

“I knew it was down so I knew I was going to score and I had Kaitlyn behind me, so I was hoping she was scoring,” Harbison said. “It was great.”

Harbison scored and Kaitlyn Anderson dove into home plate after her to give the Mallards all the runs they needed in a 2-1 victory over the Heat in the Class 1A AlWood Sectional championship game.

“It felt really good,” said Brynna Anderson, who added she went to the plate thinking about how Henry is playing for late assistant coach Tod Berger. “The feeling is unmatched.”

It’s the first sectional championship in softball for Henry and adds to the legacy of a group that set a school record for wins in volleyball and claimed the volleyball program’s first sectional title in nearly 50 years in the fall and broke the school record for wins this spring in softball and won back-to-back regionals for the first time in program history.

“A lot of people in our community have put a lot of effort into us,” Kaitlyn Anderson said. “So this is kind of the product of everybody in Henry that puts effort in. This is for them, giving back to the community with a big win like this to show that their work was worth something to us.

“Our parents and a lot of people out here on the field now (celebrating with us) have been our coaches since we were little. They put time and effort in. All of our parents have paid for us to do lessons, get into tournaments. This is the final outcome. I’m glad to do it for more than just the team, but the whole Henry community.”

The Mallards only had one hit - a single by Kaitlyn Anderson - through the first four innings against a West Central squad (31-7) that hadn’t allowed a run in the postseason. Henry added two more hits in the sixth but couldn’t add any insurance runs.

“We had to be disciplined at the plate and keep it low scoring because we knew we weren’t going to find a lot of gaps in their defense,” Kaitlyn Anderson said. “They’re a great team, so we got runs where we could. Brynna came up and pulled it out for us. I’m so proud of her.”

Two runs were enough for Harbison, who continued her dominant postseason in the circle.

She allowed one run - that came on a double followed by an infield single with two outs in the fifth - on four hits while striking out 11 batters.

“She just hit her spots well,” said Henry coach Lori Stenstrom, who took over the program in 1999. “She had good command. In my opinion, she’s getting better and better and better as we’ve gone through this postseason.”

Harbison struck out the final two batters to end the game, then threw up her glove and sunglasses in celebration before hugging Kaitlyn Anderson.

“I was extremely nervous (coming into the game),” Harbison said. “I knew they were good. I knew this was going to be an extremely tough one. I knew no matter what we all had to stick together. We are a family and we had to stay together, stay energized and make as few errors as possible, and I think we did a very good job of doing that.”

The Mallards (25-3) advance to play Dakota (23-5) in the Sterling Supersectional at 4:30 p.m. Monday. The Indians beat Pearl City 8-2 on Friday.

“I expect a good fight,” Kaitlyn Anderson said. “We know going into it we’re going to have good competition, but our coach always tells us one step at a time. I think we’ll get it done if we play like we did today.”