By Dan Messerschmidt
CCN Sports Director

AKRON — Mohawk finished tied for third in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference softball race.

Now, the Lady Warriors are one win away from the state final four.

Madi Chester singled up the middle with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning to score Sydnee Leeth, giving Mohawk a come-from-behind, walk-off 5-4 victory over East Canton in the Division IV regional semifinal at Firestone Stadium.

The Warriors will meet Hillsdale, a 6-0 winner over Bristol in the opener, Saturday at 3 p.m. back at Firestone Stadium.

“It would have been easy to just content with being here,” Mohawk coach Mindy Walton said. “But obviously, they’re not just content with being here. They’re here to win something.”

When Chester stepped to the plate in the seventh, the Warriors had already scrambled back to tie the game. Chester had been hitless to that point in three trips, but she bounced a ball up the middle just out of reach of Hornets’ second baseman Katelyn Kennedy for the game-winner.

“This was a battle between two great teams,” East Canton coach Jason Hall said. “I talked with the Mohawk coach before the game and I told her this was either going to be a 3-2 game or a 12-11 game.”

The finish seemed improbable early on. After three scoreless innings, East Canton (20-6) stuck first.

Lexi Betz led off the fourth with a single. Following a fielder’s choice, Cassy Wolfe hit a towering blast over the left field fence for a 2-0 Hornets’ lead.

The way East Canton starter Marisa Hall was pitching, that looked like it might be enough. Hall, a freshman, cruised through the first four innings, retiring the first 11 Warriors before Hannah Jordan broke the ice with a single.

“She kept us off balance,” Walton said. “She’s one of the best pitchers we’ve seen this year. I give all the credit to the girls. They’re the ones that got it done at the plate.”

East Canton padded its lead in the fifth when Harley Mason singled, Kennedy reached on a fielder’s choice, went to second on a passed ball and Betz singled Kennedy home.

Mohawk (19-7) got on the board in the fifth. McKenna Hurley reached when the catcher misplayed her third strike. Tess Weinandy promptly doubled her home.

The Warriors tied it in the sixth. Gracie Morehart singled with one out and Jordan followed with a single, advancing Morehart to third. Miranda Stallard brought Morehart home on a ground ball and Hurley singled to plate pinch runner Paityn Clouse.

“I knew they weren’t going to give up and they knew we weren’t going to give up,” Hall said. “They knew it was going to be a battle and we knew it was going to be a battle. It was just fantastic seeing both teams not giving up and doing what they were supposed to do.”

The seventh inning embodied Hall’s description of the game. Kaley Steigerwald led off with a single and just when it looked like Mohawk pitcher Jordan would escape, Betz laced a double to the gap in left-center field to score Steigerwald.

That merely set the stage for the dramatic bottom of the frame and Mohawk did it with the 7-8-9 hitters coming up.

Aubrie Harper singled leading off, Leeth sacrificed her to second and was safe herself on an error. Autumn Buder’s ground ball tied the score and moved Leeth to third in front of Chester’s heroics.

“I knew that we had girls that I hadn’t seen struggle like that at the plate recently,” Walton said. “So, I knew they had hits in them.”

The Hornets out-hit the Warriors 10-7 and had four extra base hits — three doubles and a home run — to just one double by Mohawk.

But Jordan pitched around trouble for the most part. The senior right-hander struck out six and walked none, stranding seven runners.

Jordan also singled twice and scored to lead the offense. Weinandy doubled, while Chester, Morehart, Hurley and Harper singled for the Warriors.

Betz had four hits to lead the Hornets with a double and two runs batted in. Wolfe doubled and singled, Maddie Harris doubled and Steigerwald, Mason and Kennedy singled. Hall fanned four with no walks.

“Both teams made plays and the pitchers dueled it out,” Coach Hall said. “It was just a well-fought ballgame.”

“Our N10 is just full of good teams, good pitchers, and we see this all year long,” Walton said. “It’s not easy to win in our league.

“I kept telling them, ‘Make adjustments, find the middle of the ball, scoot back in the box if you need to,” Walton added. “They made that adjustment.”

208-530-3035

East Canton   000 210 1        4   10   2

Mohawk         000 012 2         5    7    2

WP: Hannah Jordan (6 SO, 0 W)

LP: Maisa Hall (4 SO, 0 W)

HR: (EC) Cassy Wolfe (2-run, fourth inning)

Triples: None.

Doubles: (EC) Lexi Betz, Cassy Wolfe, Maddie Harris.

Multiple hits: (EC) Lexi Betz 4, Cassy Wolfe.

Records: East Canton 20-6; Mohawk 19-7.

Next: East Canton season over; Mohawk vs. Hillsdale, regional final, Saturday, 3 p.m. at Akron Firestone Stadium.