FINDLAY (Crawford County Now) — It’s time to pack up for Akron for the second straight season. And once again Mohawk has the long ball and its ace pitcher to thank for it.
The Lady Warriors started slowly — but with the help of a trio of home runs — defeated Edgerton 6-2 in the Division VII regional final at Babcock Field under sunny skies Friday.
“We saw Edgerton against Ayersville, and we saw what she (Olivia Wallace) did against them. They hit the ball, but they didn’t hit the ball hard. That’s part of being a great pitcher is hit to your defense,” head coach Mindy Walton said.
“We talked in practice yesterday about the different pitches they would see and the different locations. We needed to get on top of the ball, hit it hard and put it in play. We thought we could possibly get them to make errors, and I never count home runs out just because that seems to be part of our game, usually.”
Indeed they were.
Katie Woodland, a prolific slugger, put a pitch from Wallace over the center field. The hit cleared the pavilion to drive in Emily Brickner, who had singled.
That put Mohawk on top 2-1 after a Morgan Cape double and a throwing error gave the Lady Bulldogs a short-lived 1-0 lead.
Mallory Brickner added a solo shot to CF in the fifth for a 3-1 lead heading to the bottom of the sixth.
Enter freshman Megan Johnson.
“We had Blake Miller dealing with an injury (foot) she was playing through, so we were trying to protect her at first base. We had a little bit of lineup changes and that’s one reason Megan was in the lineup. I’ve seen some good things from her in practice lately and decided to switch some things around,” Walton said.
“It turned out to be a really good decision. She nailed it,” Walton said of the unlikely blast from Johnson on a 3-0 count.
“She had an outstanding play at second base on the last out of the game. That’s something we’ve been working with her all season long. She has been struggling to get that range and getting that backhand and flip to second base.”
Johnson remained calm in the moment.
“I wasn’t really thinking anything. Just hit the ball because your team needs you right now,” she said. “Watching the ball go over the fence gave me confidence. I was like, ‘I can do this now.'”
She apparently listened to her coach’s advice.
“I reiterated to her, ‘You have to be aggressive. If that first pitch is where you like it, you need to send it.’ It was a 3-0 count. Usually you’re holding on that count. She was aggressive. Following the coaches orders, I guess,” Walton said.
Mohawk (26-3) plays in the OHSAA state semifinal at Akron’s Firestone Stadium Thursday at 12:30 p.m. vs. the Notre Dame/Conotton Valley winner. That game is Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Ohio University.
Nearly lost in the hitting exploits was yet another stellar pitching display by junior all-Ohioan Aubrey Gottfried.
She struck out 16 and walked 1, giving up 4 hits on 110 pitches.
“We were down in this game. But my teammates had my back this whole time,” she said. “I’m so proud of this little freshman. She dove for a ball today.”
Edgerton ends its season at 18-6.
“Against a good pitcher you need to put bunts down, put balls in play. We did that, but we didn’t do enough when we got runners on. We needed to string things together,” head coach Marchetta Caryer said.
“I’m a proud coach. We made it to the Elite Eight and not many coaches get to say that. It’s tough to get here; our district has a lot of tough teams.”
Edgerton and Wallace started well, putting down the first 10 Mohawk hitters.
“We weren’t making good contact there. But that’s going to happen. All these teams are great teams,” Walton said.
“We were like we need to come out now. Emily got that hit and Katie put it off the roof of that building over there, which still amazes me. We just started hitting it really hard and maybe getting into their pitcher’s head a little bit.”
Mallory Brickner, Miller, Kaci Steyer and Elyn Hetzel added singles for Mohawk.
Amelia Giesege homered for Edgerton in the seventh.
Box score
Edgerton 001 000 1 2 4 2
Mohawk 000 213 X 6 8 2
WP: Aubrey Gottfried (16 SO, 1 W)
LP: Olivia Wallace (6 SO, 0 W)
HR: (E) Ameilia Giesege (solo seventh inning); (M) Katie Woodland (2-run fourth inning), Mallory Brickner (solo fifth inning), Megan Johnson (3-run sixth).
Triples: None.
Doubles: (E) Morgan Cape.
Multiple hits: (E) Ameilia Giesege; (M) Emily Brickner.
Records: Edgerton 18-6; Mohawk 26-3.
Next: Edgerton season over; Mohawk vs. Notre Dame/Conotton Valley winner, Division VII state semifinal at Akron Firestone Stadium, Thursday, 12:30 p.m.