Ryle prides itself for having no easy outs in their lineup.
One through nine have all shown the capability this season to hurt the opponent at any given time.
So when No. 9 hitter Aaliyah Kaseke came to the plate with the bases loaded, she didn’t flinch, driving a pitch to left for an RBI single. It opened up the second inning as the Raiders scored three runs.
It was all they needed, Madison Goddard doing the rest as she shutdown Cooper in the 33rd District championship for a 3-0 victory.
It’s the second straight district title for Ryle.
“You have to do all the right things in this game to set yourself up for the regional tournament. So we did that and our seniors get to play another game at home. I’m excited for our team, we’ve got a good ballclub and our girls are rolling going into the region tournament,” Raiders coach Jarret Goddard said.
And it all got started with the fifth hitter, Laci DeLauder starting off the three-run third with a single, Lerin Moreland following with a single. After Makenna Hirshey sacrificed the two over to second and third and Grace Tranbargar drew a walk, Kaseke delivered.
“I’ve just been working on being aggressive and recently changed my approach to hit the first pitch and not wait on things,” Kaseke said. “Everyone in the lineup can hit. Me being the ninth hitter doesn’t mean I’m the worst hitter, we all have different roles to play.”
Avery Parsons followed with a fielder’s choice RBI, Tranbargar coming around to score on an error.
Goddard was lights out from there, pitching a complete game four-hitter, striking out four and walking none. She did it all in 78 pitches.
“She was in control today. I don’t think she missed a spot today other than the hit by pitch. She was on fire today. It was good to see and fun to watch,” coach and Dad Jarret Goddard said.
Goddard also got 12 Jaguars to ground out.
“I’ve been struggling the past couple of games with walks, so I just wanted to count on my defense and have fun out there and throw it,” Madison Goddard said. “Wanted to keep the ball low today and keep them off-balanced.”
Moreland led the way with two hits, collecting five hits for the tournament.
“I just sat back and watched the ball. Really stayed aggressive, you have to be ready to hit at the plate at all times,” Moreland said. “With Maddy being on fire today it really made us comfortable.”
Outside of the bottom of the second, Cooper pitcher Kendall Blau was just as good for Cooper. She allowed two hits the rest of the way and didn’t allow a Ryle runner past first base from the third inning on. She struck out four and walked two in allowing five hits.
“She was solid and threw to our defense for the most part. We missed a couple, had some shifts on and I made some bad pitch calls and gave up a couple runs,” Jaguars coach Rusty Scott said.
Cooper’s best threat came in the fifth after back-to-back singles from Ainsley Scroggie and Claire Poage with two outs to put runners on first and third, but Goddard got another one of her patented groundouts to end the threat.
Poage led the Jags with two hits.
The two now shift their attention to the 9th Region Tournament set to start next week. The four district winners will host the first round with the semifinals and championship to be played at Highlands. The draw for the tournament will take place Saturday.
COOPER — 000-000-0 — 0-4-1
RYLE — 030-000-x — 3-5-0
WP – Goddard. LP – Blau.
Records: Ryle 16-11, Cooper 19-13