Caravel routs Wilm. Charter, back in softball final

Caravel third baseman Chloe Kennedy throws out a runner at first during Caravel’s 10-0 win over Charter in their semi-final game of the DIAA State Softball tournament at Caravel Academy on Thursday afternoon.

Caravel pitcher Holly Brooks delivers a pitch during Caravel’s 10-0 win over Charter in their semi-final game of the DIAA State Softball tournament at Caravel Academy on Thursday afternoon.

Caravel’s Grace Walker (No. 2) is congratulated by teammates after driving in the winning run in the sixth inning of Caravel’s 10-0 win over Charter in their semi-final game of the DIAA State Softball tournament at Caravel Academy on Thursday afternoon.

GLASGOW – All the motivation Caravel Academy needed Thursday afternoon was dangling from the chain-link fence in front of its bench.

From blue and gold ribbons hung second-place medals from recent state-tournament finishes, a painful and vivid reminder of unfinished business.

There is still one giant step left for the Buccaneers, but a 10-0 rout of visiting Wilmington Charter in the DIAA Softball State Tournament semifinals sent them into Saturday’s title game with confidence and momentum.

Top-seeded Caravel (18-3) has won all three of its state tournament games 10-0, earlier dispatching Delaware Military Academy and Caesar Rodney in equally decisive fashion. All that’s left now is a difficult challenge against No. 2-seeded Sussex Tech (18-2) at 11 a.m. Saturday at Milford. The two didn’t meet in the regular season.

Caravel short stop Samantha Esper throws out a runner at first during Caravel’s 10-0 win over Charter in their semi-final game of the DIAA State Softball tournament at Caravel Academy on Thursday afternoon.

Caravel has now reached 17 of the last 18 state championship games in softball dating back to 1999 and has won eight titles in that span, but the last came in 2011. Caravel has won nine state softball championships overall.

“We’re back in the finals and we’re ready to win this time,” senior pitcher Holly Brooks said. “This group of seniors, we’ve been together so many years. We go back to Little League. We have a special bond on and off the field and it really has set the tone for how we’ve played this season.”

Brooks allowed just one hit, Lindsay Johnson’s no-doubt fourth-inning single up the middle, and struck out five.

No. 12-seeded Wilmington Charter (15-6) had won earlier tournament squeakers over No. 5 Padua 6-4 and No. 13 Red Lion Christian 5-4. The Force was seeking its first trip to softball’s state championship game but was quickly overmatched by Caravel.

Sussex Tech holds off Lake Forest in softball semi

The Bucs put their first five batters on with singles by Samantha Esper, Alexa Proffitt, Brooks and Grace Walker, plus a walk. It was 3-0 before Wilmington Charter could get an out, as Caravel used every opportunity to take an extra base. Aided by a dropped fly ball, the inning ended 5-0.

“In the playoffs we’ve really been focusing on energy,” said Esper, the senior shortstop who was 3-for-4. “We knew that energy would produce the outcome, we keep saying that all the time.’’

A walk, Jen Sieminski’s single and Emily Proffitt’s sacrifice fly made it 6-0 in the third inning.

“We came out pretty strong,” Brooks said.

The game then ended because of the 10-run mercy rule on Walker’s RBI single with one out in the sixth.

Caravel’s Samantha Esper bunts her way on base during Caravel’s 10-0 win over Charter in their semi-final game of the DIAA State Softball tournament at Caravel Academy on Thursday afternoon.

Emily Proffitt and Chloe Kennedy had singled and scored on Esper’s triple, the only one of Caravel’s 13 hits that went for extra bases. Alexa Proffitt’s RBI single, an error and a walk then loaded the bases for Walker.

“We’re trying to work on high energy, hit the ball hard and have faith in each other,” said Caravel coach Tony Peterson. “ . . . They’re hungry. They want it. It’s self-motivation right now.”

Peterson is also happy that Brooks gets another chance to pitch in the state final after last year’s unpleasant experience – a 20-0 loss to Polytech

“She deserves another chance,” he said. “It’s a fluke for a game like that to happen.”

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @kevintresolini.

Softball

State semifinals

Caravel 10, Wilmington Charter 0

Wilmington Charter 000 000 —  0  1 2

Caravel 501 004 — 10 13 0

Czerwinski and Massih. Brooks and Marson. W–Brooks. L–Czwerwinski.

3B–C: Esper.