NORTH ROBINSON (Crawford County Now) — Senior Riley Hoepf shook off the nerves that come with an extra-inning game.

The Lady Eagles first baseman drove a hard two-out, infield shot to bring home Olivia Friley with the winning run in the ninth and a 5-4 upset of Mohawk in a battle for first place in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference Monday at Chuck Huggins Field.

“They got up 2-0 and for us it was just the hitting. It happens. She’s (Aubrey Gottfried) a good pitcher,” Hoepf said.

“My last three at-bats (a single and a walk) I was feeling like I could hit. I didn’t hit well in the beginning of the game, and I knew I had to have confidence. I was crowding the plate and just hit it hard and knew Liv could score.”

Mohawk took a first-inning lead as Emily Brickner doubled, Mallory Brickner singled and Elyn Hetzel did likewise.

“When we got that momentum and it was 4-2, I think that’s what started it for us. We weren’t making errors and we were in the game. We have great leadership and a great team this year,” she said.

Colonel Crawford moves to 11-3, 4-0 in the league Mohawk is 6-1, 3-1 in the N10. Upper Sandusky also remained undefeated in conference play with a 27-3 pounding of Carey.

Sophomore pitcher Aubrey Betts struck out two and walked a pair to get the win.

“It’s fun to play in games like this and it prepares you for things that are coming. We might have taken the loss, but it also exposed some things we need to work on,” Mohawk head coach Mindy Walton said.

Gottfried fanned 14 CC batters. but walked six. The junior all-Ohioan threw 154 pitches.

“Tomorrow will tell a big story. How do you respond coming off a night like tonight? She pitched her butt off tonight and has and will continue to do so.

Mohawk made an uncharacteristic four errors.

“The defense I saw tonight was not the defense I’ve seen previously,” Walton said.

The Lady Warriors added a pair of runs in the fifth on an Emily Brickner hit, a Katie Woodland triple, and a double by Gottfried.

Brickner had three hits. Mallory Brickner, Elyn Hetzel and Kaci Steyer all had a pair. Brickner made several nice catches behind the plate on bunt attempts or pop-ups.

Trailing 4-0 going into the sixth, the Lady Eagles came back strong.

Kinley Hoepf and Arabella Stratton delivered hits and took advantage of two walks to make it 4-2.

“We had a couple big hits from the bottom of our order,” Eagles head coach Ethan Weithman said.

“We knew coming in we had to stay off her rise ball. She is one of the best pitchers around. We want to face tough pitchers. In the beginning of the game we struck out a ton (7 of the first 10 a-bats). We found ways to put pressure on. They made mistakes and they’re human too.”

The hosts added solo runs in the sixth and seventh innings to tie the game at 4-4.

Woodland hit a line shot to Kinley Hoepf at third to end the seventh, one of several sharp defensive plays the Lady Eagles made.

“We’ve got enough talent to hit those pitches. Defensively, it’s all about playing together. This is the loudest I’ve heard them in the dugout. You can’t hang your head when you make a mistake or strike out,” Weithman said.

“You get another opportunity to go out and get a walk or a hit or make a play. We do need to work on our bunts, though.”

Friley doubled and scored in the seventh.

Crawford was 11-14 and 5-9 in the league a year ago.

“This year has been different. All the positions are fulfilled, and we don’t have weak spots,” Hoepf said.” We’ve been able to make plays and our lineup top to bottom has been good.”

Walton knows league games mean a fight every night.

“In the N10, truly every game is anyone’s game. We’ve gotten run-ruled by Crawford before and came back the next night and beat them. It really is anybody’s game.”

Weithman agrees.

“I’d rather play those games like this and lose than play against a team you know you’re going to pound on. Those games don’t make you much better. These build your confidence and make you realize you can play against the best teams around.

“Those kids — Aubrey, the third baseman, the catcher are all juniors and have been playing varsity since they were freshmen — and they’re good.”

The young Lady Eagles are improving.

“They’re coming along. Kinley said something after Saturday. She was getting beat up at third base with rocket shots. She was like ‘I don’t know what to do.’ I just told her to relax. It’s a whole new position and when you start figuring it out you’ll figure it out.

“She did tonight. It was hit right at her, and she didn’t have time to think, just catch the ball.”

The two teams play on Tuesday in Sycamore.

Weithman said the expectations are higher for a veteran like Riley Hoepf, a returning all-league and all-district player.

“I told her I know I’m tough on you. She came through and we got a run in. She did what she had to do.”

Box score

Mohawk                    200 020 000         4      11       4

Colonel Crawford    000 021 101         5        6        1

WP: Aubrey Betts (2 SO, 2 W)

LP: Aubrey Gottfried (14 SO, 6 W)

HR: None.

Triples: (M) Katie Woodland.

Doubles: (M) Emily Brickner, Mallory Brickner, Aubrey Gottfried, Kaci Steyer, Elyn Hetzel; (CC) Olivia Friley.

Multiple hits: (M) Emily Brickner 3, Mallory Brickner, Elyn Hetzel, Kaci Steyer; (NR) Kinley Hoepf.

Records: Mohawk 6-1, 3-1 N10; Colonel Crawford 11-3, 4-0 N10.

Next: Colonel Crawford at Mohawk, Tuesday.