HURON — It didn’t take long to recognize why Huron was the No.1 seed in the Northwest 2 district.

The Tigers scored three runs in the first and added six in the second to subdue No. 8 seed Bucyrus, 10-0 in five innings, in the Division III sectional final Friday.

“(Huron) played great defense and they hit the ball extremely well,” Bucyrus coach Jerry “Pudge” Hargis said. “Those two things right there mean that’s a pretty good team over there.”

Supporting the explosive offense of the Tigers was a solid pitching performance by Eliza Maloney. The senior righthander surrendered just one infield single and one walk.

Maloney was effective if not overpowering. She did strike out one batter in each of her five innings, but Bucyrus hitters were able to bats on the ball. The Huron (18-5) defense took care of the rest.

“That’s the goal. She tries to keep the ball low and when she’s on, that helps,” Tigers coach Jude Schmidt said. “And having a defense like that — our centerfielder (Jacyi Schmidt) was ready to go. She didn’t have a play all day, then boom, gets one in the last inning. She’s ready to go. It’s just remaining focused.”

“That’s as fast a pitch as we’ve seen all year.” Hargis said. “The (Northern 10 Athletic Conference) is alright, but when a pitcher can throw like that, she’s going to the University of Toledo for a reason.”

Maloney adds more than pitching and according to her coach is, in fact, not going to Toledo to pitch. She singled and scored in the first inning and tripled over the head of Bucyrus centerfielder Brook Dennison in the six-run second, scoring on a double steal. Maloney was also hit by a pitch and later scored in the third.

Bucyrus starter Kendra Blizzard limited the damage in the first inning despite four Tigers hits — including two doubles — and a walk. But she was not as fortunate in the second inning.

Five more Huron hits, two Bucyrus (10-11) errors and a walk resulted in six more runs and a 9-0 Tigers’ lead after two innings.

“They played focused and hit the ball really well,” Schmidt said. “Our defense played well, made some good plays. And obviously Eliza pitched really well.”

The only Bucyrus hit came in the fourth inning when Blizzard hit a one-hop shot off the knee of third baseman Emmah Shaw that caromed toward shortstop for an infield single. Blizzard was the only other baserunner for Bucyrus with a walk in the first inning.

“I’m not totally disappointed with our players,” Hargis said. “We made a few errors, but we were out there trying.

“They’re a good hitting team,” Hargis said of Huron. “Those kids can hit the ball. We’d like to get there pretty soon hitting the ball. That’s what it’s all about.”

Maloney led the way with two hits, including a triple, with three runs scored and Shaw had a double and single. Jessi Holsapple, Annabelle Herzog, Lanee Orzech, Kendall Williams, and Schmidt singled. Williams drove in two runs.

The coach wanted to be sure his team did not overlook Bucyrus.

“That’s why you play the game. Anything can happen,” Schmidt said. “And that’s one thing we wanted to do is remain focused. We have a tough conference (Sandusky Bay Conference) that we play against that helps us get ready for this. We just remain focused, one game at a time.”

Freshman Haylee Stratton took over for Blizzard in the circle in the last two innings, giving up one run on no hits. She walked one batter and hit another.

“I’m glad we played in the game,” Hargis said. “Our kids recognize what good’s all about now and how to hit the ball. It was a good game for us.

“We’ve got two (N10) games left to go and we’re going to play those hard,” Hargis said. “It’s been a good season.”

Huron moves on to play in the district tournament on Wednesday at Shelby, where they will face No. 4 seed Upper Sandusky, an 8-5 winner over Galion.

Box score

Bucyrus    000 00X X        0        1        3

Huron        361 0XX X     10        9        0

WP: Eliza Maloney (5 SO, 1 W)

LP: Kendra Blizzard (0 SO, 4 W)

HR: None.

Triples: (H) Eliza Maloney.

Doubles: (H) Annabelle Herzog, Emmah Shaw.

Multiple hits: (H) Eliza Maloney, Emmah Shaw.

Records: Bucyrus 10-11; Huron 18-5.

Next: Bucyrus at Buckeye Central, Saturday; Port Clinton at Huron, Saturday.