BUCYRUS — After a couple of down seasons, Bucyrus and Galion are looking to return to their previous successes.

They played like that was the case Monday afternoon.

Galion broke a 2-2 tie with two runs in the sixth inning and held on for a 5-2 win over the county rival Lady Redmen at Jack Hewitt Field.

The respective pitchers — Maddie Beck for the Tigers and Kendra Blizzard for Bucyrus — virtually matched pitches for five innings.

“I thought both pitchers pitched well,” Bucyrus coach Jerry Hargis said. “We just threw the ball around to places we shouldn’t have thrown the ball and that’s what happens, and you get beat.”

To the coach’s point, the Redmen contributed an error to the visitors’ two-run sixth that was the ultimate difference in the game. Bucyrus had three chargeable miscues for the game and a couple of mental lapses.

Galion (2-5) took advantage. The Tigers got six of their eight hits in the last two innings. Beck led off the sixth with a single and eventually scored on a wild pitch.

With one out, Mady Tinch singled and came around to score on a two-out single by Cameron Eckert, to make it 4-2 Tigers.

“We definitely started slow at the plate,” Galion coach Doug Hunt said. “I think both teams played very well in the field. The difference was we got a couple more hits than they did.”

Bucyrus (3-4) missed an opportunity to take the lead in the bottom of the fifth that came back to haunt them.

Adriana Clark and Brook Dennison each singled with one out and moved up a base on a wild pitch. But Beck slammed the door, recording a strikeout and a grounder back to her to quell the potential rally.

“You can go back to points in the game where we didn’t do the things you need to do to win. That was one of them,” Hargis said of the missed scoring chance. “We swung at some bad pitches, and we threw the ball around out in the field.”

Each team had two-run innings prior to the late-inning dramatics. The Redmen struck first in the third frame.

Haylee Stratton led off with a double and Clark was hit by a pitch. Dennison moved the runners up with a ground ball, Addy Rister drove home Stratton with another ground out and Clark scored on a wild pitch.

The Tigers answered with a pair in the top of the fourth. C.C. Campbell drew a one-out walk and moved to second on an error. With two outs, Kortnie Ganshorn singled home Campbell and later scored on a single by Eckert.

“They’re a well-coached team and played very disciplined ball today,” Hunt said of the Redmen. “I think we played a very tight game. We didn’t have an inning where we gave it up.”

Galion added an insurance run in the seventh on a two-out double by Campbell, a single by Tinch and an error.

Beck went the distance in the circle, with eight strikeouts and two walks, while holding Bucyrus to four hits.

“(Beck) has been doing a good job for us this year,” Hunt said. “She’s a freshman. We have two freshmen that really have been very strong for us.”

Campbell had a double and scored twice to lead the Tigers’ offense. Ganshorn and Eckert each singled twice and drove in a run and Tinch had two singles. Beck added a single.

Blizzard fanned nine and walked three and was touched for eight hits.

Stratton doubled for the Redmen and scored. Dennison singled twice and Clark singled and scored. Rister batted in a run.

“I read an article, maybe 20 years ago, that 75.9% of games are lost, not won, because of the way you play. I didn’t think we played well,” Hargis said. “But, the kids, I know, are resilient, and they’ll come back and play better next time. It’s not intentional. It’s just one of those things that we have to focus a little more.”

“We’re looking forward to the future,” Hunt said. “We’re starting three freshmen, four sophomores, a couple of juniors and a senior. Hopefully, it will be exciting.

“This was only our second win,” he added. “The (Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference) is pretty tough. We started out (non-league) with Lexington, who went to regionals (last year) and Mohawk, who went to regionals. But that’s good. We need to play those teams. It’s the only way you’re going to get better.”

“I know these girls are trying,” Hargis said. “We’ve just got to get a little smarter at softball and work a little harder at what we’re doing.”

Box score

Galion        000 202 1       5        8        0

Bucyrus     002 000 0       2        4        3

WP: Maddie Beck (8 SO, 2 W)

LP: Kendra Blizzard (9 SO, 3 W)

HR: None.

Triples: None.

Doubles: (G) C.C. Campbell; (B) Haylee Stratton.

Multiple hits: (G) Mady Tinch, Kortnie Ganshorn, Cameron Eckert; (B) Brook Dennison.

Records: Galion 2-5; Bucyrus 3-4.

Next: Shelby at Galion, Tuesday; Wynford at Bucyrus, Tuesday.