GALION — For the Lady Tigers, the hits just keep on coming.
Pounding out 13 hits and taking advantage of Colonel Crawford fielding errors, Galion won 12-2 in five innings in a Division III sectional semifinal game Tuesday at Heise Park.
“I think it’s a big step in the right direction. We still have a long way to go,” Galion head coach Calli Bauer said. “They just have to believe that they can win.”
The Lady Tigers visit Crestview at 5 p.m. Friday for a sectional championship.
Hannah Allen’s double to right center and a fielding error put Colonel Crawford (7-9) up 1-0 in the second.
From there it was all Galion (9-12) as the hosts scored three times in the third and fourth innings and plated six runners in the fifth to end the game.
Six hitters had two hits each for Galion, with Kaitlyn McKee’s triple in the fifth making it a 9-2 score.
“This is a team (Crawford) that we know well. We got a lot of ground balls and were a little out of whack in the first inning from getting the field ready. We hit the ball exceptionally well and adjusted to their pitcher’s speed,” Bauer said.
Adalyn Perry had two doubles and Destiny Blue, CeCe Campbell, Kortnie Ganshorn, and Ava Ball had one apiece.
“We were excited. It’s a team that’s close. We know they have players who can hit the ball. One through five they hit the ball really well. We know that defensively, they make mistakes, and we make mistakes too. But just as long as we put the ball in play, we’re going to be fine. We’re seeing the ball so well right now.”
Galion added two more on a wild pitch and a bloop single by Madelyn Schieber drove in the final run.
“It’s the same thing that has plagued us all season long — making errors, giving up on balls, not catching foul balls that should be caught,” said Lady Eagles head coach Ethan Weithman.
He credited Galion’s hitting attack.
“They’ve got great hitters. I mean CeCe, she’s a phenomenal kid. I’ve known her since she was a little kid, and she plays travel ball with my daughter (Allison). She’ll go on and do special things in college,” he said.
“I was so happy when Calli got the job. She’s going to do really great things and develop those younger kids, and hopefully get them back to being a powerhouse. They have kids with some talent.
“The pitcher is only a sophomore. She’s tough and has gotten much better from last year. She’s already popping the glove pretty good,” Weithman said.
He was referring to Madison Beck, who picked up the win in the circle. She struck out three, walked one and scattered three hits.
Colonel Crawford loaded the bases in the fourth but only managed a run, with a single by Emma Strausbaugh.
Bauer, her assistant coaches, and the team worked diligently removing standing water from the infield prior to the game, which started at 5:28 p.m.
“I didn’t have the lineup done until I was walking up to the umpire meeting. We used like 16 bags of Field-Dry, but we wanted to get the game in,” she said.
A fourth-inning sacrifice fly by Madison Gray accounted for the other Colonel Crawford run. Weithman had a single for the Lady Eagles. She suffered the loss, striking out a pair and walking three Galion batters.
Lady Eagles third baseman Bella Stratton made a heads-up double play in the fifth, fielding a line drive and tagging a Galion base runner out at third.
The tough competition in the MOAC has prepared her team for the post-season, according to Bauer.
“We know coming off River Valley and having as many hits as we did against the number one pitcher in the conference. Our conference really gets us ready for Division III tournament time,” she said.
Slow starts are nothing new for Galion.
“First inning, we start out a little flat. Then we start picking it up. Once we got through the lineup one time, it was showtime. Once we get that fixed, we’re going to score runs,” Bauer said.
“We were really good base runners today. That’s something at the beginning of the season we didn’t do great. But we worked really, really hard at making it a priority.”
Up next is a trip to Olivesburg to play Crestview, a team not unfamiliar to the Lady Tigers.
“We played them early in the season in a doubleheader. The first game we had 12 errors, and they scored no earned runs. The second game we won 4-1 and had one error. That’s the story of our season. If we take care of the ball in the field, we’re going to hit the ball and we’re going to be fine,” Bauer said.
“We’re hitting the ball so much better than we did at the beginning of the season and our approaches are so much better and I think we’re prepared. Crestview is going to hit the ball hard. We’ve just got to make sure that we make plays.”
Colonel Crawford freshman Peyton Rowlinson pitched relief in the final inning and has a bright future.
“She came off that back injury. She pitched a little bit last night at Wynford. We’ve gotta give her some experience. She’s had to change her pitching motion and learn how to use her legs a lot more. I told her she’s got to learn how to hit spots. So that’s what we’re going to work on in the off-season,” Weithman said.
He bids farewell to three seniors, including his daughter Allison, Hannah Allen, and Madison Cobb.
“I told all those girls when we have our banquet and I read off their combined stats … a lot of you younger kids, I hope a light bulb goes off. Those kids have done really special things over the last four years,” he said.
“They work all winter long. Those three seniors put in the work, put in the time. The way they play, it shows. They’re go-getters. They’re ball players. They play hard and are special kids.”
Box score
Colonel Crawford 010 10X X 2 3 3
Galion 003 36X X 12 13 1
WP: Madison Beck (3 SO, 1 W)
LP: Allison Weithman (2 SO, 3 W)
HR: None.
Triples: (G) Kaitlyn McKee.
Doubles: (CC) Hannah Allen; (G) Adalyn Perry 2, Destiny Blue, CeCe Campbell, Kortnie Ganshorn, Ava Ball.
Multiple hits: (G) Adalyn Perry, Destiny Blue, CeCe Campbell, Kortnie Ganshorn, Kaitlyn McKee, Ava Ball.
Records: Colonel Crawford 7-9; Galion 9-12.
Next: Galion at Crestview, 5 p.m. Friday, D-III sectional final; Wynford at Colonel Crawford, Wednesday.