In the first inning, Cameron Rios reached on an error on the very first pitch of the game. Addie Wernsing then popped up a bunt attempt. Henry caught the ball, but her throw trying to catch Rios off base, was wild and Rios raced to second.

Hailey Niebrugge then dropped a single into short centerfield. Rios, who had to make sure the ball wouldn’t be caught, tried getting to the third. But a strong throw from Unity’s Maddie Reed resulted in Rios being tagged out.

Niebrugge made it to second base and then scored when Maddie Kibler’s pop-up was dropped for Unity’s third error of the inning.

With one out in the second, the Bulldogs got on the scoreboard again. Anna Faber, after fouling off four straight pitches, belted the next one over the left-centerfield fence for a solo home run and a 2-0 lead.

The Lady Rockets cut the lead in half with an unearned run in the bottom of the second. Grace Frye singled, went to second on a passed ball, to third on a wild pitch and scored when Hailey Flesch’s ground ball was misplayed.

In the bottom of the third, Lindy Bates singled with one out for Unity. Ruby Tarr reached on an error and Grace Renfrow and Henry followed with RBI singles to put the Lady Rockets on top to stay.

After that, St. Anthony’s only baserunner came on a one-out single by Addysen Rios in the fifth.

“For the past three games, we’ve had some trouble hitting against rise-ball pitchers like Henry,” Taylor noted. “I thought we showed discipline today and had some good quality at-bats. We hit the ball, but they made some very good plays.”

Henry finished with a three-hitter. She didn’t walk a batter and struck out four. Lucy Fearday also pitched a strong game, scattering nine hits. She didn’t walk anyone either and struck out two.

The Lady Bulldogs were seeking their second straight trip to the state tournament. A year ago, they finished runner-up in Class 1A. This year, they competed in Class 2A.

“We strengthened our schedule, which really helped prepare us and helped us get to the sectional championship,” Taylor said. “There’s good pitching in both 1A and 2A. The big difference in 2A is there are better hitters 1 through 9 in the lineup. I’m proud of how we played. We proved we can compete at this level.”

Tolono Unity, now 25-8, will face Macomb in the Decatur Super Sectional. That game will be played Monday.

The Lady Bulldogs finished their season with a fine 26-5 record.

“We accomplished a lot,” Taylor noted. “We won the NTC Tournament, the Cross Creek Classic and the regional. We played 2A, 3A and 4A teams on our schedule. We had a good year. I’m really proud of this team.”