Friley's bat, defensive gems power Colonel Crawford to district final

SHELBY - Sophomore Olivia Friley stressed one thing to her Colonel Crawford teammates ahead of their first district appearance since 2022. "We had to play loose," she said. "And we carried that throughout the whole game.

We were just having fun in the dugout with little hats, we were just having fun today — that made the biggest difference. " Friley was the driving force for the top-seeded Eagles in a convincing 9-3 win over four-seed New London in a Division VI district semifinal. She was 2-for-2 at the plate with four RBIs, three runs scored, a stolen base, and a walk.

"This one feels good," Colonel Crawford coach Ethan Weithman said. "These seniors, they've never gotten this opportunity, so I'm super happy for those girls. " And Friley had arguably the biggest play of the game offensively ripping a ball down the first base line that clipped off Gracie Thomas' glove and into right foul territory for a stand up triple.

This came right after New London scored a pair of runs to cut into the Eagles' lead. DIVISION IV: Shafer bulldogs way through injuries, leads Colts to district final "She hasn't pulled the ball much this year ... but she got a heavier bat and now she's pulling it," Weithman said.