NEW RIEGEL — Colonel Crawford had a memorable season, winning a share of the Northern 10 Athletic Conference title and making it to the Division III district finals here Saturday.

However, one bad inning ended the illustrious season for the Lady Eagles. A 3-1 loss to Margaretta came largely due to the fourth inning when they gave up three runs with two outs.

“Uncharacteristic mistakes by the people who made them. That’s tough and that’s what you’re going to find in a game like this. The more you go in the tournaments, the more you need to be darn near perfect and we just weren’t today,” Colonel Crawford coach Sarah Fraser said.

Polar Bears pitcher Mariah Fields had a stellar performance, getting six CC batters to pop out.

She held Colonel Crawford to four hits and an unearned run while striking out eight to earn the victory. She also smacked a two-run double in the fourth to break open a scoreless game.

“We had a checklist at the beginning of the season of things we thought we could accomplish,” Margaretta coach Dale Dawson said. “We’ve been trying to stay pretty even keel, but today was a day to start celebrating. When you get this far, it’s time to start celebrating.

“Mariah came out and hit her spots, didn’t try to do anything that was uncharacteristic for her,” Dawson said. “She threw her game.”

Lady Eagles standout Lauren Frietchen pitched well enough to win, scattering three hits while striking out six and not issuing a walk.

“I’d like our chances we’d win a 1-0 ball game. But things just didn’t go our way and we didn’t make some plays we normally make. We knew coming in this would be the toughest game we’d played all year and it definitely was,” Fraser said.

The bottom of the fourth the wind played havoc with two flyballs in the Colonel Crawford outfield, allowing Margaretta to capitalize.

Atley Crabaugh’s throw to the plate nailed a runner and prevented a fourth run from scoring.

The lone run for the Lady Eagles came in the top of the sixth. Catcher Natalie Gallant drove in Kaylyn Risner with a hard single. Risner had singled to right and advanced to second on an outfield error.

Margaretta (26-3) faces Van Buren in the Division III regional semifinal at Elida on Wednesday.

Crawford ends its season at 20-5 and as co-champions with Mohawk in the N10.

“We didn’t have it today and they did,” Fraser said. “I hope they go kick butt for our district. We just didn’t get that timely hit. It kind of carried over from Thursday.”

It marked the final game for seniors Alivia Studer, Risner and Crabaugh.

The win is the first district softball title for Margaretta since 1992.

Margaretta’s volleyball, boys’ and girls’ basketball teams all won district championships this year.

“There’s a couple crossover athletes, but not a lot,” Dawson said. “We’re blessed right now at the school to have a really tremendous group of athletes coming through.”

Box score

Colonel Crawford    000 001 0      1       4      2

Margaretta                 000 300 X      3       3      1

WP: Mariah Fields (8 SO, 1 W)

LP: Lauren Frietchen (6 SO, 0 W)

HR: None.

Triples: None.

Doubles: (M) Mariah Fields.

Multiple hits: None.

Records: Colonel Crawford 20-5; Margaretta 26-3.

Next: Colonel Crawford season over; Margaretta vs. Van Buren at Division III regional semifinal at Elida, Wednesday.