The Windsor Lady Blue Devils knocked off one of the ace pitchers of this season and one of the hottest teams to be crowned Moultrie County Tournament champions on Saturday, beating Sullivan 10-5, after holding off Okaw Valley, 9-7.

Windsor is enjoying one of their best seasons since their program started a few years ago. But Sullivan, was having an even better season, including beating Windsor in a doubleheader earlier this season by a narrow margin. Sullivan also has one of the best pitchers in the area, freshman Tabitha Davis.

However, on Saturday the Blue Devils turned the Redskins championship hopes blue, by knocking off the freshman ace and her back-up group.

“We gave up three unearned runs on three errors early,” said Rick Allen. “ But, we had no errors after that and that was key. Alicia (Allen) only gave up one walk and we made all the plays after the second inning. Good defense and quality at-bats made all the difference. We were aggressive at the plate and hit the ball. We drew six walks and only had six strikeouts.”

In the championship game, the only Allen walk, a single and an error led to a 2-0 lead for Sullivan in the first. However, the Devils struck back. After a ground out, Allen singled and went to second on a passed ball. Kaitlin Beem smacked an RBI-double and Hannah Cole launched a 2-run homer, for a 3-2 Windsor lead.

Sullivan tied the game in the second, when they got a lead-off error, another error, a sacrifice and a score on a ground out, with the ball never leaving the infield, tying the game at 3-3.

The pitchers ruled as they dueled over the next two and a half innings. Sullivan then took the advantage in the fifth with two outs, 4-3. However, Windsor got that run right back. Brittany Trimble singled and after a sacrifice and a fly out, Cole drew a walk. Tierra Becker put the ball in play and reached on an error, scoring Trimble for the 4-4 tie after five.

Tabitha Davis tried to help herself to a win with one swing of the bat in the top of the sixth, going yard for a 5-4 lead. But, the Devils hunkered down and didn’t allow another run.

In the bottom of the sixth, Windsor got on a roll that gave them the win. After a strikeout, Barbara Blackburn walked and Taylor Williamson hit a single. Brittany Trimble singled and loaded the bases. The Devils then started to torment the ‘Skins. Allen hit an RBI single. Beem hit an RBI-single and Cole hit a 2-RBI single for ann 8-5 lead. Becker then doubled, driving in two more runs for a sizable 10-5 lead.

In the top of the seventh, Allen had to hold off a Sullivan comeback. She did. She got three outs on three pitches. The first pitch popped foul and Allen came off the mound and dove for the catch. The second pitch was a hard hit line drive to Tia King in left field. The third pitch was a pop up to the catcher Kaitlin Beem and the championship belonged to Windsor.

Windsor (16-11) had their game with Nokomis canceled on Monday, so they will now prepare for the NTC tournament and the upcoming postseason with a shot of confidence.

Windsor 10, Sullivan 5

Sullivan 210 011 0—5-6-1

Windsor 300 016 x—10-10-2

Windsor stats: Trimble 2-for-4; Allen 1-for-1, 2 BBs, sac, RBI; Beem 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBIS; Cole 2-for-2, HR, 2 BBs, 4 RBIs; Becker 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBIs; Blackburn 0-for-1, 2 BBs; Williamson 2-for-3. (W) Allen (10-7) 7 IP, 5 runs, 6 hits, 1 BB, 3 Ks.