NEW WASHINGTON — “Bittersweet.”

That was the description given by Bucyrus pitcher Caleigh Rister following the Lady Redmen’s 14-0 victory over Buckeye Central on Saturday.

Several factors brought Rister to her conclusion. The win over the Buckettes clinched an outright Northern 10 Athletic Conference title — the banner for which will hang in Alex Kish Memorial Gymnasium.

The bitter part is that Bucyrus was upset in the sectional tournament by Carey on Tuesday, so Saturday’s game ended the high school careers of Rister and four of her teammates.

The Redmen were able to overcome the disappointment of losing the sectional, playing with a purpose.

“The kids finished the season the right way and I’m proud of the seniors,” Bucyrus coach Jerry Hargis said. “They’re all A students in the classroom. They come out and they work here. It makes all the difference when you get kids like that.”

The victory started in the circle. Rister pitched a complete game with 14 strikeouts and no walks — a typical game for the right-hander — while giving up a lone single.

Rister got all the offense she needed in the first inning. Haley Dye led off with a single and BC errors put two runs on the board.

A five-run second gave Rister a cushion. Singles by Faith Schifer, Natalie Hankins, Dye, Addy Rister, Caleigh Rister, and Taisha Spears, and a three-run double by Ashley Davis did the trick.

“Our team got constantly better,” Hargis said. “Every week that we played, we got a little bit better. And then, COVID and wipes us out for 10 days. That’s why they’re so special. We’ve overcome a lot of stuff.”

Bucyrus (17-4, 14-2 N10) shortened the game to five innings with seven runs in the fifth. The Redmen collected eight hits in the frame, including a double by Jade Torres.

“It means a lot,” Rister said of clinching the title. “We never had that (outright). We tied Upper Sandusky as freshmen. It’s crazy, but it’s flown by.”

Buckeye Central (4-20, 2-14) had a tough season, but Coach Todd Messmer is optimistic about the program.

“I think our future is bright,” Messmer said. “We’ve got quite a few eighth graders coming up to be freshmen. We’ve got like eight freshmen coming up next year. And we’ll have five seniors next year, so they can kind of be leaders for the team.”

The Buckettes, despite the score, played some reasonable defense, including a 1-2-3 third inning and retiring three of four batters in the fourth against the powerful and motivated Redmen.

“They made great plays earlier in the game,” Messmer said. “I know Bucyrus is good hitters, but our girls stepped up and played good defense.”

Other than the first batter of the game, which Laura Jensen pitched to as token to the senior, Maddie Cain pitched the entire game for Buckeye Central. She struck out four and walked none, giving up 16 hits.

Bucyrus says good-bye to five seniors — Caleigh Rister, Dye, Torres, Schifer, and Spears.

“It’s definitely been amazing,” Torres said of the season and the seniors’ careers. “We’ve had a great team every year.”

“You can’t say enough about them,” Hargis said. “I’m not a guy with a lot of words. But these kids, I’ll tell you what, I’ll defend them no matter what’s going on.”

Box score

Bucyrus                   250 07X X        14     17      1

Buckeye Central    000 00X X         0       1       3

WP: Caleigh Rister (14 SO, 0 W)

LP: Maddie Cain (4 SO, 0 W)

HR: None.

Triples: None.

Doubles: (B) Caleigh Rister, Jade Torres, Ashley Davis.

Multiple hits: (B) Haley Dye 3, Caleigh Rister 3, Addy Rister, Ashley Davis, Taisha Spears, Natalie Hankins.

Records: Bucyrus 17-4, 14-2 N10; Buckeye Central 4-20, 2-14 N10.