Lady Raiders win semi thriller in 8

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Erika Moeller hurls Barker into Class C finals.

Coming up huge down the stretch both in the circle and defensively, No. 10 seed Barker nipped host No. 6 Chautauqua Lake 1-0 in 8 innings this afternoon in the semifinal round of the Section VI Class C softball playoffs.

The shutout victory was the third in a row for Barker which now faces No. 4 Cleveland Hill, a 4-3 victor over Allegany-Limestone, for the Class C title at 3 p.m. Friday at Gowanda.

Erika Moeller struck out 12 and allowed only 3 hits to register her third straight postseason shutout for the Lady Raiders.

Barker scored the game’s lone run in the top of the eighth on a fielders choice play off the bat of Moeller after a hit batter, a walk and a wild pitch had put runners at second and third.

The Barker defense then came up huge in the bottom of the eighth to clinch the narrow win as Mary Rounds caught a line drive at first base and threw to Sabrina Harris at second to complete a dramatic game ending double play.

Likewise in the bottom of the seventh, with Chautauqua runners at second and third and no outs, Barker got out of the jam as Moeller registered clutch strikeouts for the first two outs and then Abby Bachman fielded a grounder at second and threw to Rounds at first for the final out.