(photo courtesy Rachel Carlson)

After a tough loss to South Bend Adams on May 17, Buchanan softball coach Rachel Carlson shrugged it off saying, “we play a tough schedule to be ready for the tournament.”

The lessons paid off.

Trailing by a run in the bottom of the seventh in the regional championship, Khloe Singleton stroked a two-run single to give Buchanan a 4-3 win over Coloma and a regional championship.  It’s the third consecutive trip to the Division 3 state quarterfinals for the Bucks.

At 25-8, Carlson’s team will face Ravenna in an Elite Eight matchup Tuesday at Kalamazoo College.

The news is not as good for two Indiana softball teams who were in action Saturday.  Penn downed Harrison, 5-4, to advance to the semistate championship, but the Kingsmen lost to Crown Point for the second time this season, 4-2.

The Bulldogs jumped on Penn pitcher Olivia Signorino for four runs in the first inning. Izzy Hanna responded with an inside-the-park homer in the first and Notre Dame commit Ava Zachary knocked in her 62nd run of the season in the 5th, but Crown Point pitcher Paige Leizart worked out of further trouble.

Penn ends the season at 25-5.

Earlier in the day, South Central lost in the 1A semistate semifinals, falling to Southwood, 6-3. Lexi Johnson clobbered a two-run homer for the Satellites, but it wasn’t enough as the Knights offense pounded out 10 hits.

South Central closes the year at 20-7-1.