DEFIANCE — The Mohawk Lady Warriors held Hilltop well below its season scoring average, but errors kept victory from their reach.
The Warriors held the potent Cadets’ offense to seven runs, but four errors made four of the runs unearned. The result was that Hilltop was able to drop Mohawk from the tournament trail with a 7-5 victory in the Division IV regional semifinal at Defiance High School.
“That was the difference maker,” Mohawk coach Mindy Walton said of her team’s miscues. “We could have totally walked away with this. It’s just kind of defeating right now because defense was the deciding factor.”
The Cadets — out of the Buckeye Border Conference — entered the game defeating their opponents by an average of 15-2. They beat their two district tournament foes by a combined 30-2. Had the Warriors only given up the three earned runs, the outcome could have been different.
Mohawk (21-7) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. With one out, Bailey Sheets doubled, and Aubrie Harper followed with a long home run to left field.
“Just because they gave up those two early runs, the game was not over,” Hilltop coach Tom Schaper said. “They needed to continue to come out there and battle like we have all season.”
Hilltop (28-3) answered with a three-spot in the top of the second. The only hit for the Cadets was an RBI double by Leanna Baker. Three errors in the frame made all the runs unearned.
“I thought we did a pretty good job coming back in the dugout from that (three-run inning),” Walton said. “That was early in the game. I really wasn’t worried about that. It was really the errors in the fifth inning that dug the hole a little deeper.”
A one-out double in the fourth by Alex Horton and a single by Hannah Riley made it 4-2 Hilltop, but the Warriors got the run back on a solo home run from Joslyn Eader, to cut the deficit to 4-3.
Then came the fateful fifth. Lana Baker and Kacy Connolly singled to open the frame. A wild pitch and a passed ball moved the runners to second and third, respectively. During the next at bat, the return throw from the catcher got past pitcher Sheets and went into center field, allowing both Baker and Connolly to score, widening the Cadets’ advantage to 6-3.
Kodi Brenner made it stand up. The senior right-hander struck out eight and pitched around eight Mohawk hits and six walks to get the win. The Warriors stranded nine runners, at least one in five of the seven innings.
“We’ve never been in this situation before,” Schaper said of the close game. “As a coach, you’re not sure what’s going to be the tipping point, what’s going to keep them up, what’s going to get them down. So, I was just so pleased with how our girls came out and continued to fight.”
Mohawk chipped away, getting one back in the bottom of the fifth on a single by Paityn Clouse, a stolen base and a single by Eader.
“I’m so proud of (Eader),” Walton said. “She actually just came into our lineup about four games ago, literally the game before we came into tournaments. She’s been a big factor in the tournament run.”
The Warriors got within 6-5 in the bottom of the sixth when Marah Gillig reached on an error, stole second and scored on a two-out single by Clouse.
But Hilltop got an insurance run in the top of the seventh on a one-out triple by Leanna Baker and a passed ball. Mohawk went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the seventh and the Cadets punched their ticket to the regional final.
“We’ve played solid defense all season,” Schaper said. “I felt like nerves for us were a big issue early on. Once they settle in and saw they could score runs on (Sheets), I think that was the game-changer for us. We just kept plugging away and plugging away and got the job done today.”
Leanna Baker led a 12-hit Cadets’ attack with a double and triple. Connolly doubled and singled, Horton doubled, Riley, Brenner and Lana Baker singled twice, while Sara Barnum singled.
Mohawk was led by Eader, who homered and singled. Harper homered and Sheets doubled, and Clouse and Alysen Young singled twice. Sheets struck out four and walked none, though she hit a batter.
“Our bats were good,” Walton said. “But we had big mistakes in the second and fifth innings that just cost us the game. We knew that defense was going to be the difference maker coming in and that’s what it was.
“We hit very well today,” Walton added. “I’m very happy with our performance in the box. I was happy with (Bailey) in the circle.”
“We had a few defensive things that didn’t go our way, a few offensive things that didn’t go our way,” Schaper said. “But they just kept continuing to battle. It’s what great teams do. Hopefully, we can come out and compete with whoever we play Saturday.”
The opponent will be New Riegel, a 14-0 winner over Wayne Trace in the second game of the day. Game time Saturday is 3:30 p.m. with the winner advancing to the state Final Four.
“They were solid all the way through, which we expected from them,” Walton said. “I was very impressed with our bats and how we battled against Brenner. She’s not anything we don’t see in (the Northern 10 Athletic Conference). That’s great for us because moving forward, I think we have one of the top-notch conferences around.”
Seniors Gillig, Harper and Clouse played their last game in a Mohawk uniform.
“That’s not too shabby,” Walton concluded of the regional appearance. “It takes a lot of work to get here. Regionals their freshman year, regionals their senior year. I’ll take it.”
Box score
Hilltop 030 120 1 7 12 1
Mohawk 200 111 0 5 8 4
WP: Kodi Brenner (8 SO, 6 W)
LP: Bailey Sheets (4 SO, 0 W)
HR: (M) Aubrie Harper (2-run, first inning), Joslyn Eader (solo, fourth inning).
Triples: (H) Leanna Baker.
Doubles: (H) Kacy Connolly, Leanna Baker, Alex Horton; (M) Bailey Sheets.
Multiple hits: (H) Hannah Riley, Kodi Brenner, Lana Baker, Kacy Connolly, Leanna Baker; (M) Paityn Clouse, Joslyn Eader, Alysen Young.
Records: Hilltop 28-3; Mohawk 21-7.
Next: Hilltop vs. New Riegel, at Defiance Division IV regional final, Saturday.