Lady Broncos Rally to Stun Sylvan-Lucas-Lincoln, Advance to Semifinals

The Russell-Victoria Lady Broncos were six outs away from elimination on Monday before erupting for four runs in the final two innings for a come from behind 5-4 win over Sylvan-Lucas-Lincoln in a first round regional contest in Sylvan Grove.

The game was scoreless going into the bottom of the second inning when the Lady Mustangs strung together three straight hits to take a 2-0 lead. #4 seed Sylvan-Lucas-Lincoln took that 2-0 advantage into the top of the fifth inning when Russell-Victoria broke through with a run.  The Lady Broncos then took a 4-2 lead with three runs in the top of the sixth frame.

After the Lady Mustangs cut the lead to 4-3 in their half of the sixth, the big hit of the game occurred in the top of the seventh when Kassi Weber hit an inside-the-park home run to right field with two outs to provide a critical insurance run.  The fifth-seeded Lady Broncos would need that run as Sylvan-Lucas-Lincoln scored a run in the bottom of the seventh inning  and had the tying run on base.

Lady Bronco pitcher Brooklyn Nowak who picked up the victory retired Keeli Knobbe to end the game and send Russell-Victoria into Wednesday's semifinals in Hays.  Sylvan-Lucas-Lincoln which saw their season end in the first round for the second year in a row finishes their current campaign under longtime coach Linda Haring with a record of 8-11.

Russell-Victoria (8-13) ended an eight game losing streak with Monday's comeback win and will now face top seed Hoisington-Central Plains on Wednesday, May 18 at 3 p.m. on the home field of TMP-Marian-La Crosse which is the tournament host.  The Lady Cardinals rolled to a 16-0 whitewash of #8 seed Plainville-Stockton at home on Monday.  Wednesday's other semifinal will pit the host Lady Monarchs against Beloit which eliminated Larned on Monday.  TMP-Marian-La Crosse won their opening round game 8-5 over Colby.

Wednesday's game between Russell-Victoria and Hoisington-Central Plains can be heard on KRSL AM 990/98.1 FM, Nex-Tech Cable Channel 130 and online at KRSL.com beginning with the pre-game show at 2:45 p.m.  First pitch is set for 3 p.m.  Should the Lady Broncos win, they would advance to the Regional Championship game on Wednesday evening.