Staff photo / Preston Byers Kylee Lance throws a pitch during Newton Falls’ playoff game against Warren JFK on Monday.

NEWTON FALLS — Newton Falls’ Kylee Lance recorded three RBIs and struck out 10 batters as the Tigers advanced to the Division IV, Northeast 3 sectional softball semifinal with 12-2 home victory over Warren JFK on Monday.

Lance went 3-for-4 at the plate, including an RBI triple, while allowing just five hits and one earned run in six innings in the circle. Things did not get off to a particularly strong start for Lance or Newton Falls, however.

The Tigers fell behind 2-0 in the first inning after Danielle Wickham, the Eagles’ starting pitcher, singled to lead off the game and eventually scored on an infield error. Hannah Myers and Samiya Currie also singled in the top of the first inning, with Currie’s hit driving in another Kennedy run.

Wickham kept the score at 2-0 through the first two innings by retiring the side in order in the first and then striking out three more in the second.

“You’re gonna have those moments where things just aren’t going your way,” Newton Falls head coach Kristina Baker said. “You just gotta keep battling, keep battling, and keep fighting. Eventually, you’re gonna get your swings down and we played solid defense when we needed to make something happen.”

Just as Lance ran into trouble in the first inning, Wickham struggled in the third. The first two Newton Falls batters in the half-inning walked and the third reached on an error to load the bases. With one out in the inning, Lance tied the game with a two-run single before Abby Wolford tripled to left field to score two more to take a 4-2 lead at the end of three innings.

While the Tigers were in the midst of their big half-inning at the plate, a Newton Falls supporter sitting just behind the right-field fence blew an air horn for the second time. After the first instance earlier in the game, the home-plate umpire yelled to the outfield to stop and that there could be no “noisemakers.”

When the umpire heard the air horn again, he threw the supporter out of the game and halted the contest until they left. After a several-minute delay, the supporter got in their car and relocated about 25 feet further away from the field, which was apparently sufficient for the umpire, who resumed the game.

Newton Falls continued to build its lead in the fourth inning, during which Kennedy inserted Addison Owens as the pitcher. After the two batters preceding her in the order walked, Lance singled again to score the Tigers’ fifth run. Later in the inning, Madalyn Knight drew a bases-loaded walk, putting Newton Falls up 6-2.

After a scoreless fifth inning, Lance kicked off a run and error-heavy bottom of the sixth with a leadoff triple. Knight drove in Lance on a ground out before Ella Downing and Madison Davis each singled and Natalee Henderson walked to load the bases.

After the Tigers scored their eighth run on an infield error, an error in the outfield during the next at-bat scored three more Newton Falls runs to make it 11-2 and put Kennedy’s season in immediate jeopardy courtesy of the 10-run mercy rule. In the final at-bat of the game, Hanna Wright hit a ground ball and a subsequent error allowed Kirra Howard to score and end the game. With the contest concluded, the ejected supporter resumed blowing their air horn and were joined by several parents honking their car horns in support.

Kennedy head coach Nicole Day said this season, which the Eagles finished with a 2-13 record, was a difficult one, with nearly half of the team picking up the sport for the first time.

“We actually have five girls that have never played before, out of 13 on our roster,” Day said. “They’ve become really, really great defensively as a whole, and we just need to work on some hitting. … We did a really great job with what we had this year. I’m really proud of them.”

After the game, Newton Falls coach Kristina Baker reflected on her team’s rough start in the first inning.

Baker remarked the win was “very important” for the confidence of her team, which had lost six straight heading into Monday’s game.

“When you come into the tournament, I told them, it’s a brand-new season,” Baker said. “We learn from our mistakes and what we did right and what we did wrong throughout the season, and it’s time to move on. This is where you can show how far we’ve come.”

With the win, the Tigers will play at Chalker on Wednesday in the sectional final. The winner of that game will advance to the district tournament at Dalton next week.

Have an interesting story? Contact Preston Byers by email at pbyers@tribtoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @PresByers.