Top-seeded Diamond edged second-seeded East Newton 9-8 in the championship game of the Class 2 District 5 softball tournament on Thursday.
With the win, Diamond (19-2) will meet College Heights Christian (18-3) on May 13 in a quarterfinal contest of the state tournament.
East Newon led 3-2 when Diamond plated three runs in the third and two more in the fourth to take a 7-3 lead.
The Patriots trailed 9-6 entering the seventh inning. East Newton pushed across two runs before the Wildcats recorded the final out.
Diamond’s Madison Bentley was the winning pitcher. She struck out eight and allowed six earned runs on 12 hits.
Grace Frazier went 3-for-4 with three RBI for the Wildcats, while Caitlin Suhrie, Lexy Bridges and Piper Brewer all had two hits apiece.
Leslie Watson drove in three runs on one hit, while Suhrie scored three runs.
Gracie McMahan was charged with the loss. She allowed six earned runs on 11 hits and struck out six in five innings. Kaylie Kester pitched one inning and gave up two runs.
East Newton’s Mackenzie Brasier drove in three runs on three hits, while Kayla Higginbotham, Kinzie Massey and Josie Guinn all had two hits apiece.
Massey scored three runs for the Patriots (24-6).
