It took 10 innings, but Riverside finally found a way to come up with the one run it needed Friday against Russia.

The third-seeded Pirates (17-5) advance to play top-seeded Triad at 1 p.m. today in the sectional final at Tippecanoe High School.

“We missed out on a lot of scoring opportunities, but we finally got a two-out hit with a runner in scoring position,” said Riverside head coach Rod Yoder. “Sara came up with a big hit for us.”

Through nine innings, Riverside saw several scoring chances, including an opportunity with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh inning, result in no runs.

However, the Pirates continued to grind away and broke through in the 10th. Ashley Jones reached on a single with one out. Jones then moved to second on a groundout. Emerich followed wither her well placed single to score Jones.

In a span of a few seconds, an afternoon of frustration turned into jubilation for the Pirates.

“I told the girls the same thing I told them after (Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Botkins),” said Yoder. “All that matters in the tournament is winning and advancing. It doesn’t matter how many hits you have or what the score is.”

Riverside collected seven hits on the day. Erica Snapp led the way with two hits and Abby Heaberlin added a double.

Emerich turned in another dominating pitching performance. She struck out eight and walked just one batter.

“Sara pitched a great game and our defense made some great plays when they needed to,” said Yoder.

Riverside now faces the tough task of beating a Triad team that has played in the last three Division IV state championship games.

“Triad is a great team,” said Yoder. “We have to play great defense. We can’t afford to give them anything and we have to find a way to scratch some runs across.”

RIVERSIDE 1, RUSSIA 0 (10 INNINGS)
Raiders 000 000 000 0 — 0 3 1
Pirates 000 000 000 1 — 1 7 2
Herron and Borchers; Emerich and Yoder. WP—Emerich; LP— Herron.

Riverside’s Ashley Jones attempts to tag a Russia player at second base during Friday’s tournament game at Riverside High School.