SYCAMORE (Crawford County Now) — Last season both teams enjoyed record successes. Mohawk (25-6) went to the Division VII state semifinal before falling to Monroeville, 4-2. Wynford (14-10) advanced to the D-VI regional semifinal, losing to Gibsonburg 3-2 in 9 innings.

But nearly 6 inches of rain this week postponed the Northern 10 Athletic Conference opener between the rivals until Thursday at Legion Field.

Lady Warriors junior ace Aubrey Gottfried made it worth the wait, holding the Lady Royals hitless, striking out 10 and scattering 7 walks in a 4-0 league victory.

“I thought they did a fairly good job early in the season of attacking good pitches to hit. We haven’t faced a pitcher like Riley (Robinson) yet this season,” Mohawk head coach Mindy Walton said.

Robinson gave up 8 hits and recorded 3 strikeouts with no walks.

“We need to hit more consistently from the top to the bottom. Sometimes the top half hits and the bottom half doesn’t, or vice versa. I thought we had better consistency tonight.”

Mohawk plated two runs in the first inning as junior catcher Mallory Brickner doubled and scored on a Katie Woodland double to right. Gottfried drove in the second run with a single.

The hosts added a run in the third when Woodland tripled to right and scored on a hit. Brickner hit a solo home run to left center field in the fifth for the fourth Mohawk run.

Wynford head coach Chelsea Rice said her team took too long to get going.

“Aubrey is the best pitcher we’ve seen, even in tournaments. I appreciate playing Mohawk to get us ready,” she said.

“You can’t start later in the game and think you can come up on top of somebody like Aubrey. Tonight, we had some plays. We had a starter out sick, so we had to move some things around.”

Gottfried walked three Wynford batters in the fourth but struck out the side to end the uprising.

“She struggled a little bit in the middle innings, but I was proud of how she worked through the bases loaded,” Walton said. “That’s a tough spot to be in mentally.

“We did great when we were hit at defensively. We made the plays. We hadn’t been hit at a lot this season in scrimmages or games, so we did well with that,” Walton said.

Coming off the historic run last season, Mohawk returns its 1-5 hitters.

“We have three freshmen and a sophomore rounding out the bottom,” she noted. “They made consistent contact. A few games they’ve started it off for us.”

Sophomore outfielder Elyn Hetzel had three hits, including a double. “She’s a newbie on varsity and she did an excellent job.”

Gottfried recorded her 500th career strikeout in a 13-3 win over Lakota on Monday.

“That’s pretty phenomenal,” Walton said. “That speaks to the person she is. She works hard and works year-round at what she does. Aubrey has a great work ethic, and it shows.”

Wynford also is without last season’s starting catcher Brooke Frombaugh, recovering from a knee injury suffered during basketball season.

“We have some young players. We didn’t capitalize on some things. We’re not the same team as last year. Most know how to compete. Even my freshmen; they’re hungry,” Rice said.

Wynford freshman outfielders Paige Sheldon and Ellie Nash made nice catches on well hit balls to left and right field, respectively, in the seventh inning.

“They want to compete for a championship. The skill and talent are there. We are off to a slow start, but we’ll be back in it.

“I think Paige in left field just likes to make me feel a little antsy and keep me on my toes,” Rice said. “I know she’s going to catch; she’s a player and gives a hundred percent. Ellie was in right field and that’s not her spot. She’s our first baseman, but our starter was out sick.

“They know how to play softball and they never give up. Last year we either split with everybody or beat everybody. I want to win or split again, win the league title and go into the tournaments.”

The two teams were to meet on Wednesday at Wynford, but rain again prevented it. No make-up date has been set.

Box score

Wynford   000 000 0         0        0        1

Mohawk   201 010 X         4        8        0

WP: Aubrey Gottfried (10 SO, 7 W)

LP: Riley Robinson (4 SO, 0 W)

HR: (M) Mallory Brickner (solo 5th).

Triples: (M) Katie Woodland.

Doubles: (M) Mallory Brickner, Elyn Hetzel.

Multiple hits: (M) Elyn Hetzel 3, Mallory Brickner, Katie Woodland.

Records: Wynford 1-2, 0-1 N10; Mohawk 2-0, 1-0 N10.

Next: New Riegel at Wynford, Saturday; Mohawk at New Riegel, Monday.