FRANKFORT – Josie Wood was a one-woman wrecking crew Saturday. Fortunately for North Miami, Wood was unbelievable while unfortunately for Triton, Wood put an end to its softball season. Wood hit two homers and was a beast in the circle as North Miami eliminated Triton from the IHSAA Class 1-A softball tournament in a 9-1 final Saturday afternoon at the Clinton Prairie Semi-state.

Wood came up in the first and jacked a solo home run to straight away right field, but delivered a mammoth homer in the sixth that was a stamp on the Lady Warriors’ afternoon. Wood stepped to the dish with two on and mashed Mallorie Jennings’ offering not just through the tree line well behind the right field fence, but about 40 feet into the corn field a good 300 feet away. North Miami led 8-1 after Wood touched home plate and the game was all but over.

“We knew this was going to be a tough game coming in, we played them earlier in the season,” Wood said. “We had confidence in our team. We were expecting a close game and were prepared for that.”

Wood, a junior who has verbally tabbed Indiana University as her next stop, was 3-for-3 with a walk and four RBIs. The junior ace was also equally impressive in the circle, settling in after a wobbly start to keep a pesky Triton team at bay. Wood finished with nine strikeouts, but Triton made it at least interesting early.

In the second inning, Megan Berger cracked a two-out single and pinch runner Brooklyn Beatty came around to score when Lauren Hostrawser mashed a double to right-center. At that point, Triton head coach Steve McBride felt better about his decision to pitch to Wood in the first as the game was knotted at one.

“Thanks for bailing your coach out,” McBride called to Hostrawser following the inning.

Triton had just one other inning of any threat the remainder of the way. Jennings and Krystal Jennings led off the inning with bloop singles, and moved up a base on a wild pitch. But an outstanding defensive play by third baseman Carlee Lefebvre on a foul bunt attempt, catching the ball behind home plate a dead sprint, then followed by two strikeouts from Wood really changed the momentum of the game.

Taking 15 seconds to find a logical answer, McBride offered afterwards, “Yeah, I should have walked (Wood). Mallorie wanted to pitch to her and that one was on me. We got the one run back, but the second one I take responsibility for that. She just crushed that.”

North Miami, which led 2-1 heading into the fourth, tacked on two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Lefebvre outran a slap bunt for an RBI to move the Lady Warriors up 3-1 then a throwing error trying to get Lefebvre out trying to steal second allowed another run to score.

Savannah Davis added an RBI double in the fifth, setting up Wood’s bomb in the sixth.

“I wasn’t sure to expect out of their lineup, but we knew they were a great team,” said North Miami head coach Rob Cooley, whose team beat Triton, 3-0, earlier this season. “They made us sweat early and put the ball in play. We just needed to settle in a little bit and I think about one time through the lineup we did that.”

The loss for Triton left the Trojans 23-7 for the season and marked the end of a fantastic career for Jennings. The all-time strikeout queen at Triton left the circle with 702 punchouts with the five she recorded Saturday. Part of two sectional championships, the first regional championship in school history last Tuesday, and the subsequent first semi-state for the program, Jennings’ understood what was left on the field.

“We came out and did our best,” Jennings said. “I know we just didn’t get the hits all strung together, but we did a good job hitting. But they are number one for a reason. They just beat us.”

Added McBride, “I wouldn’t trade our kids for anything. They all played with so much heart. This has been a wonderful team. We never had attitude. We had good chemistry. It’s just been excellent. Our seniors have been excellent. This is a new experience for our kids, for our fans. We didn’t think we would be here. We just played a team that is going to be a hard team to beat the rest of the way.”

Top-ranked North Miami (29-4) will meet Carroll (Flora) (22-9) in tonight’s final. Carroll scored an unearned run to best Tri-Central, 1-0, in the morning’s first game. The winner will meet either Clay City or North Daviess, playing in the southern semi-state finals tonight.