NORTH ROBINSON — First year Bucyrus softball coach Mike Middleton had faith in his young team from the start of the season.

Though the wins were few, Middleton and his staff set a lofty goal for the young Lady Red — win a sectional title.

Thursday, they did just that, stunning county rival Colonel Crawford, 12-6, to capture the Division VI sectional championship at Chuck Huggins Field. It was the Lady Red’s first sectional title in six years.

With the win, Bucyrus will play Buckeye Central in the Division VI district semifinal at Shelby on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

“That’s huge for this program. That was a goal we had at the beginning of the year,” Middleton said. “We put it out there for the girls and we were serious when we put it out there. We thought our talent level would grow as the season went on and I think we’re starting to see it.

“It’s really late in the year. I know our wins and losses aren’t there. But it’s huge for our program moving forward.”

Bucyrus (5-20) was relentless offensively. After a scoreless first inning, the Lady Red scored runs in each of the next five innings.

Three runs in the second and three more in the third gave Bucyrus a 6-0 lead. Tavia Parker, Addie Weber and Tori Stang singled, Maddie Kent doubled to drive in a pair of runs and Peyton Fackler added a sacrifice in the frame.

Colonel Crawford (11-14) finally got on the board with two runs in the bottom of the third. Olivia Friley led off with a triple to the fence in right-center field. Brooklyn Vanderpool singled her home.

Vanderpool moved to second on an error, to third on a fielder’s choice, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Paige Allen.

But the Lady Red had an answer for every Eagles’ rally. Starting pitcher Peyton Rowlinson gave up 13 hits and issued nine walks. The defense committed six errors behind her.

“I think we came in with the expectation that we were going to just roll over them and I knew that wasn’t going to happen,” Colonel Crawford coach Ethan Weithman said. “It’s been the same things all year — bad throws, errors, passed balls, wild pitches, all this stuff. We have an error, then we have a walk and then there’s a base hit or three hits in a row.”

While Bucyrus pitcher Bell Bruss was also touched for 13 hits, she consistently was able to limit the damage and not allow the big inning. Bruss struck out six and walked only three.

“Bell made a lot of pitches today. She got in trouble, but she made pitches,” Middleton said. “One thing we talk to Bell about is being mentally tough with pitching because we go as long as Bell goes. Today, she was just tough mentally. She checked in, she made the pitches.”

One example came in the fourth inning, the Eagles plated two runs, but left the bases loaded. Colonel Crawford stranded 14 runners for the game.

“We left a lot of runners on base,” Weithman said. “We just couldn’t get that key hit, that I couldn’t say we’ve gotten all the time, but we’ve got often enough to score some runs.”

While Bucyrus also left 14 runners, the Lady Red combined the walks, errors, and 13 hits to continue scoring throughout.

“Our approaches at the plate were great,” Middleton said. “They struggled throwing some strikes there for a while, but we took advantage of it. We got base runners on. Our girls hit the ball. We had some girls come up with some big hits that sometimes they don’t.”

The defense also helped Bruss minimize the Colonel Crawford offense. Though the Lady Red committed five errors, three came in one inning. And several sparkling plays ended innings.

“We played really well defensively,” Middleton said. “That’s one of the best games we’ve played all year. Like we told the girls, we finally brought it together.”

Bucyrus’ solid defense and non-stop offense altered the Eagles’ strategy.

“When you’re down eight runs, you can’t bunt and run, you can’t fake bunt and steal bases and hope for a bad throw and do things like that because you need base runners,” Weithman said.

Friley led the Eagles with four hits, including a triple and double. Saylor Holt, McKenna Potter and Allen had two hits each. Aubrey Betts, Vanderpool and Bella Stratton each singled.

Weithman loses only two seniors — Grace McDowell and Emma Strausbaugh — so he is looking forward to building on his team’s 10-win season.

“They never gave up in 95-98 percent of the games this year,” Weithman said. “If we limit mistakes, you’re right back in it and that’s how we could have been in this game.”

Haylee Stratton, Parker, Weber, and Stang had two hits. Fackler had two hits including a triple and drove in two runs. Kent and Marissa Middleton each doubled and each had two RBIs.

“That’s a good hitting team over there,” Coach Middleton said of the Eagles. “The last time we played them, they run-ruled us. Bell pitched well and our defense was on target. I’m really proud of the girls.”

Middleton and his staff realized their vision for the team, better late than never.

“They finally brought it together, limited their errors,” Middleton said. “They came out, they hit the ball. We’re a good-hitting team when we should be.”

Box score

Bucyrus                      033 123 0     12    13     5

Colonel Crawford     002 210 1       6     13     6

WP: Bell Bruss (6 SO, 3 W)

LP: Peyton Rowlinson (3 SO, 6 W)

HR: None.

Triples: (B) Peyton Fackler; (CC) Olivia Friley.

Doubles: (B) Marissa Middleton, Maddie Kent; (CC) Olivia Friley.

Multiple hits: (B) Haylee Stratton, Tavia Parker, Peyton Fackler, Addie Weber, Tori Stang; (CC) Olivia Friley 4, Saylor Holt, Paige Allen, McKenna Potter.

Records: Bucyrus 5-20; Colonel Crawford 11-14.

Next: Bucyrus vs. Buckeye Central, Division VI district semifinal at Shelby, Tuesday; Colonel Crawford season over.