BOWLING GREEN (Crawford County Now) — Last-minute dramatic comebacks are becoming the norm for Mohawk softball.

This one was nothing short of remarkable as the Lady Warriors scored nine runs in the top of the seventh inning to defeat West Unity Hilltop 10-4 in a Division VII regional semifinal Wednesday afternoon at Meserve Field on the campus of Bowling Green State University.

It was a 2-1 last-inning rally over New Riegel that gave Mohawk a district title last Saturday.

What was the team thinking trailing 4-1 with three at-bats remaining this time?

“It’s not over yet. I guess we like to come back with a vengeance here in the postseason,” said Mohawk head coach Mindy Walton. “What a way to step up for our seniors in the bottom of our lineup.”

Allison Russell, Trenna Johnson and Avery Barth all delivered hits in that epic final inning.

“What a way for them not to want their season to be over, and what a way for them to step up and get it done. It was pretty awesome to see us battle against their first pitcher (Keisy Connolly) and hit consistently off the second pitcher (Giada Rising) they brought in and then come back and keep going.”

Mohawk (24-5) faces Defiance Ayersville, a 2-1 winner over Tiffin Calvert, at 5 p.m. Friday at the same site for a berth in the state Final Four.

It marks their 12th trip to a regional final. Mohawk is ranked fifth in the state.

The game was rather quiet through four innings, as neither team could plate a run. But a three-run fifth inning put Hilltop in command.

Halle Jones singled, Connolly walked, Sophie Graham was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Sophomore Sophia Cosgrove slammed a double to right field to drive in three runs.

Hilltop (26-4) committed two errors, as did Mohawk. But the Cadets’ miscues came late in the contest and were costly.

“I’m not trying to make excuses for the girls. But it seemed the mist picked up right there in the seventh and they were having a tough time,” Hilltop head coach Tom Schaper said.

“(Aubrey) Gottfried seemed to be having a little bit of an issue hanging onto it too. She walked a couple girls. We just let them get too big of a lead and we made some mistakes we shouldn’t have made.”

Hilltop managed a solo run in the sixth before Mohawk plated one in the same inning.

Mallory Brickner ripped a double to left and scored when Katie Woodland singled.

“Our coaches talk about grit and keeping our energy up,” Brickner said.

“Most of us play travel ball so even when we’re down in tough situations like this you can always come back. It’s possible. Don’t put your head down. Fly out or they make a good play. Shake it off and it’s next play.”

There was plenty of grit involved in that seventh-inning comeback as eight Mohawk batters got hits. That combined with an infield throwing error allowed nine runs to score.

Johnson’s three-run triple to right field opened the floodgates. Allison Russell singled, as did Barth.

A Blake Miller suicide squeeze produced the fifth and deciding run as the Lady Warriors bunted several times to advance and score runners.

“We’ve practiced that a little bit. I happened to have two of my fastest girls on base and it worked out that way,” Walton said. “They understood what the execution was there, and they got it done.

“They’ve done it before, and they believe in themselves. They’re battlers. They know the huge potential we have here and want to keep it going.”

Gottfried got the win with 13 strikeouts and 5 walks. Connolly suffered the loss with 4Ks and one base on balls.

Walton noted one aspect of Gottfried’s work in the circle that has improved.

“Her mental side has just come so far this year. Just working through an at-bat, having bases loaded and then we get the last two outs,” she said.

“She comes with a lot of confidence in her defense too. She knows if they put the ball in play that the girls behind her will get it done. They complement each other so well.”

Hilltop left 10 runners on base.

“They’re similar to us and have a very strong pitcher. They live and die by Gottfried. Thought they were gonna die today, but they didn’t,” Schaper said.

“Hats off to them for finishing strong. They capitalized on our mistakes.”

Walton said her team is a nice mix of youth and veterans.

“The top five of my line-up are sophomores and freshmen. Then my seniors are toward the end. They play ball all year long and when you do that these kinds of situations don’t really faze you,” Walton said.

“You just keep grinding and keep working.”

A return trip to BGSU awaits.

“You’re in a regional final. Everybody wants that game, so here we are. We’ll see if we can do it again.”

Mohawk’s 12-8 win over Upper Sandusky Tuesday night gave the Lady Warriors the outright Northern 10 Athletic Conference championship.

Box score

Mohawk      000 001 9      10      13       2

Hilltop         000 031 0        4        7        2

WP: Aubrey Gottfried (12 SO, 5 W)

LP: Giada Rising (0 SO, 1 W)

HR: None.

Triples: (M) Trenna Johnson.

Doubles: (M) Mallory Brickner, Emily Brickner, Katie Woodland; (H) Sophia Cosgrove.

Multiple hits: (M) Emily Brickner 3, Mallory Brickner, Katie Woodland, Trenna Johnson, Allison Russell.

Records: Mohawk 24-5; Hilltop 26-4.

Next: Mohawk vs. Ayersville, Division VII regional final, Friday, at Bowling Green; Hilltop season over.