DUNCAN FALLS – The Harrison Central softball team faced a tall order against Emory Whisner and undefeated Licking Valley.

Whisner was recently named the Licking County League Buckeye Division Player of the Year, and her and teammates showed exactly why they are a force to be reckoned with as the Panthers – the No. 1 ranked team in the state – shut out the Huskies, 14-0, in four-and-a-half innings in the second Ohio Division IV Region 13 Semifinal of the day Thursday evening out at Philo.

“We ran into a buzzsaw today,” Harrison Central (19-11) head coach Darrin Young said. “It is what it is. They are very talented. If they aren’t playing for a state title, I will be very, very surprised.”

Whisner, who is a sophomore, picked up the win inside the circle for the Panthers. She struck out seven and walked two while only allowing three singles. Offensively, Whisner went 4-for-4 with a single, two doubles, a home run, three RBI and three runs scored.

“She definitely get the job done inside the circle and at the plate,” Young said. “She is their best hitter. She hit a home run. She hit a two-run home run. She went 4-for-4. She is an outstanding athlete. She is being recruited by SEC schools.

“We made some mistakes early. We bobbled a ball. You can’t do those things against a team like that and expect to come out on top.

“I’m really proud of the girls. We had baserunners every inning. We chipped away. We got some hits. It just wasn’t enough to stay with them.”

With the win, Licking Valley (25-0) will play John Glenn in the district final at noon Saturday back out at Philo. John Glenn (26-5) advanced to the final by shutting out Gallia Academy (15-14), 10-0, via mercy rule in six innings in the first semifinal.

Mikalya Pelegreen took the loss for the girls from Harrison County. She struck out three while not walking a batter. Pelegreen produced a pair of singles at the plate, while Emma Jarvis recorded one.

The Panthers collected 14 hits en route to the win – 11 of which went for extra bases. The girls from Licking County tallied seven doubles, three home runs and one triple in the win.

Individually, Dani Lambert collected a double, a home run and two RBI, Tori Baughman contributed a double, a triple and two RBI and Madison Evans delivered a home run and two RBI. Also, Chloe Cooperider recorded a double and an RBI, D’Neya Dennis and Emma Flowers each finished with a single and an RBI and Addison Justice and Abby Kochur each added a double.

“There is not a weak spot in their lineup,” Young said. “All nine girls can hit the ball. They have nine girls who play high travel ball. One through nine, they are loaded. There is no easy outs. They’re fast.”

The victors scored two runs in the home half of the first to take the early lead before plating six runs in the second to break the game open as they built an 8-0 advantage. The Panthers extended their advantage to 10-0 after three before scoring four more runs in the fourth to increase it to 14-0.

“The next couple of days there is going to be a hole in hearts from losing, but when we think about being district champs and playing in a regional semifinal for the first time, there is a lot of positives to take away from this year,” Young said. “We want to continue to grow and take things from here.

“One thing is we did it this year without Kelsey Powers at third. We had to make a lot of adjustments, and the girls stepped up. It was a very positive year. I am very proud of them.”

The Huskies picked up back-to-back singles in the fifth, but they were unable to score as they game came to an end.

“To be district champs and to be playing this late in the year, it’s special,” Young said. “I told the seniors they made school history. I told the underclassmen to take it all in, learn from this and playing the game over and over in your head. We want to get back here next year.”

The Huskies committed three errors in the game while the Panthers played a clean game on defense.

“Our run developed throughout the year,” Young said. “I knew we had some talent, but there is was going to be some growing pains. We started three freshmen. We had a young team. As the season went on, we won some games, we played some tough teams and everything clicked. We played good softball. A lot of good things happened this year.”

The game was the final one for Harrison Central’s three seniors – Kara Blackburn (centerfielder), Jaylin Ward (left field) and Jaiden Pelegreen (second base).

“Those three girls made school history,” Young said. “They were not flashy. They just worked hard. We are district champs this year. In their careers, we have won the Buckeye 8. We have been district runners-up. They left Harrison Central softball better than they found it. It’s all up from here.”

The Huskies are losing three key seniors, but Harrison Central does return plenty of talent and the team will be getting an influx of talent from the incoming freshmen.

“We have a good number of eighth graders coming,” Young said. “I think they can contribute early. We were a young team this year, and we are going to be getting more young players. We want to keep this rolling.”

Licking Valley 14, Harrison Central 0

Harrison Central 000 000 0 – 0 3 3

Licking Valley 262 400 0 – 14 14 0

HARRISON CENTRAL (19-11): Pelegreen LP (3K, 0BB) and Smith. Pelegreen 2S; Jarvis S.

LICKING VALLEY (25-0): Whisner WP (7K, 2BB) and Cooperider. Dennis S, RBI; Whisner S, 2D, HR, 3RBI; Baughman D, T, 2RBI; Cooperider D, RBI; Evans HR, 2 RBI; Lambert D, HR, 2RBI; Justice D; Kochur D; Flowers S, RBI.