AKRON (Crawford County Now) — Mohawk came up just a bit short despite a gallant effort, falling 4-2 to Monroeville in the Division VII state semifinal game at Firestone Stadium Wednesday afternoon.
The Eagles, despite being outhit 8-7 by Mohawk, managed one big inning and that’s all it took to advance to play Portsmouth Notre Dame Thursday for the championship.
Mohawk (25-6) gave up a run in the second, but a three-run third frame proved the difference.
“I thought we came out a little bit flat at the beginning of the game. But, given what we’ve accomplished in this tournament run, I knew that wasn’t the final say,” head coach Mindy Walton said.
“The couple comeback runs in the tournaments gave me confidence and we scored a couple of runs later in the game.”
In that third inning Lilly Clark and Veanna Helmstetter drew walks. From there Taryn Tyler ripped a double to drive in a run.
That was followed by a line drive, 205-foot home down the left field line by Madison Reiber that made it 4-0.
“We had a couple of base runners errors there in the middle innings (fifth) that cost us. Obviously you don’t like to see that happen, but it did and hopefully we can learn from that and be a better team next year.”
The Lady Warriors got base runners in all but the second inning.
A bright spot was Emily Brickner who was perfect at the plate with a pair of doubles.
“Emily went 4-for-4 tonight, so that’s not too shabby for a sophomore,” Walton said.
“I just think up the middle. I just think make contact,” Emily Brickner said.
“Our sophomores are very strong. We play travel ball and fall ball. I have a travel ball tournament on Friday. This gives us something to work for for next year.”
Mallory Brickner added an RBI single in the sixth when Mohawk plated its two runs. Blake Miller, Allison Russell and Trenna Johnson also had hits.
Helmstetter got the win with one strikeout and no walks. Aubrey Gottfried fanned three and walked four in taking the loss, only her sixth against 25 wins.
Walton credited Monroeville with strong defense.
“Two outstanding, diving catches out there in centerfield (Haylee Morman). Those probably would have been doubles, maybe triples, if they had rolled to the fence. So right there that’s two runs,” she said.
“Monroeville has a great team. I knew coming into this we were pretty well-matched. Tonight, we had a couple more of the errors than we had previously to us getting here and that was the difference in the ball game.”
In the fifth Mohawk had runners on after a Johnson double and a sacrifice bunt by Allison Russell. But a 2-3-6 double play ended the inning with Emily Brickner at the plate.
“We had a couple of double plays, and our defense was rock solid. We couldn’t get more runs in,” Walton said.
Fighting from behind is nothing new for the Lady Warriors.
“That’s how we’ve been this whole tournament run. It’s never say never. They had to bring a different pitcher in to end the game. Right there tells you they were worried too, in that situation,” Walton said.
“We need to do better at the beginning of the game and not waiting until the sixth or seventh inning.”
After this spring’s post-season success Walton is already looking forward to 2026.
“I’m very excited about that. My whole infield basically comes back. We have some big holes to fill in our outfield and our shortstop (Averie Barth) and they will be missed. We do have a very young core of sophomores and a freshman.”
The excitement around Sycamore was palatable.
“We had all kinds of decorations, and we had a great send-off today. We had a great crowd today and it’s been a great experience for the last couple of weeks,” Walton said.
“We have had great crowds, and we’ve had feed the team and all sorts of things in the community. It’s been exciting and we’re very thankful for the community being behind us.”
Trenna Johnson, one of those who will be graduating, reflected on the historic season.
“It felt good being a senior and doing this. It’s really cool, but not how we wanted it to end.”
Mohawk looked like it had another rally in its bag.
“Throughout the game we kept getting better every time up. We were figuring her (Helmstetter) out. We just stayed with it,” Johnson said.
Others playing their final games include Barth, Allison and Anna Russell and Cheyenne Belcher.
Monroeville (27-3) head coach Abe Helmstetter saw his team lose in the finals a year ago.
“We are fortunate and what’s different this year from last year is we get to see who we are playing,” he said. “The moment won’t be too big for them. They’re going to be in the moment and it’s just a softball game and they’ll play it at a high level.
“I’m very proud of them. I could sit here all day and talk about them. But I think I have to prepare for whoever we are playing tomorrow.”
Helmstetter credited Mohawk, making its first state tourney appearance since 2005, with a strong showing.
“Mindy’s done a great job and Bo (Trusty) before her. I’ve faced them a lot in recent years, and their program is solid.”
Box score
Mohawk 000 002 0 2 8 1
Monroeville 013 000 X 4 7 1
WP: Veanna Helmstetter (1 SO, 0 W)
LP: Aubrey Gottfried (3 SO, 4 W)
HR: (Mon) Madison Reiber (3-run, third inning).
Triples: None.
Doubles: (Mo) Emily Brickner 2; (Mon) Taryn Tyler.
Multiple hits: (Mo) Emily Brickner 4; (Mon) Avery Rosser, Taylor Scheid.
Records: Mohawk 25-6; Monroeville 27-3.
Next: Mohawk season over; Monroeville vs. Portsmouth Notre Dame, Division VII state final, Thursday, at Akron.