NORWALK (Crawford County Now) — Seneca East has fought through adversity all season long.

Unfortunately, after Norwalk St Paul put six insurance runs on in the third inning, it was too little too late to try to dig out.

The Lady Tigers saw their Division IV tournament run short-lived as the No. 2 seeded Flyers dominated, 11-4 in sectionals on Friday at Contractors Park.

“We had an inning of bad defense, and we had people on base and couldn’t get an extra hit,” Tigers coach Steve Coppes said. “I’m proud of the girls. They battled against a really good team and there’s not much more you can say about that.”

Seneca East (7-13) put the first run on the board when Mackenna Lucius grounding out to drive in Lily Burkholder in the second inning.

“Last year, we didn’t get off to a fast start,” Coppes said. “I was happy that they never gave up. A couple of hits here and there in different innings, but we couldn’t get that one extra hit we needed.”

St. Paul (15-9) put up two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Addy Rospert was safe on an error, which brought in Payton Preston. Rospert then scored on a throwing error.

Madi Smith scored to tie the score at 2-2 in the top of the third inning. But the Flyers bats caught fire in the bottom of the third, producing six runs, to blow the game open.

“Coming into the game, we knew that Seneca East was a very good hitting team,” Flyers coach Aaron Kalizewski said. “We knew we needed to keep them at bay on defense. We were fortunate enough that they made a couple of errors that we could capitalize on.”

Isabella Guerra scored on an Ella Kalizewski single. Taegan Mansfield-Bush doubled to right field, driving in Kalizewski, making it 4-2. Mansfield-Bush came home on a throw to the plate. Preston later scored on an Allyson Takacs ground out to third base. Ryleigh Mansfield-Bush doubled of the top of the fence, which drove in Kegney Stoll and Rospert to make it 8-2.

“It’s win or go home,” Coach Kalizewski said. “You never know what team is going to show up. Fortunately for us, we have been able to put it together at the end of the season and our offense has put a lot of runs up. As long as we hit the ball and keep locking down on defense, I think we have a good shot at winning some more games.”

Guerra pitched four innings for the Flyers, allowing three runs on seven hits, fanning two and walking two. Taegan Mansfield-Bush pitched three innings, allowing one run on three hits, while having two punchouts and one walk.

St. Paul will face Monroeville (15-7), a 12-2 winner over Crestline. That game will take place at Buckeye Central on May 20 at 6 p.m.. The two teams have faced each other twice already in Firelands Conference action.

Savannah Gayheart pitched two innings of scoreless relief for the Tigers, surrendering just two hits, with four strikeouts and one walk. Seneca East starter Ella Vanderveen allowed 11 runs on 12 hits, but only three of the runs were earned.

“We didn’t get the wins we wanted to,” Coppes said about the progression of the season. “We got better at hitting and they all stuck together as a unit. We had some bad innings, and it cost us, especially when it was in the bottom of the seventh inning. It’s just something you keep battling and hope you get better each year. “

Seneca East has one last game to play at Bucyrus in a completion of a suspended game.

Next season marks a transition for the Tigers, as they and the rest of the Northern 10 Athletic Conference welcome six new schools into the fold.

“I don’t get nervous about that, and I worry about our own team,” Coppes said of the increased competition. “I let them worry about themselves. It’s always fun to have a challenge, but I am not too concerned about that. They are all good teams coming but we have other things to worry about.”

Box score

Seneca East            011 100 1       4       10        4

Norwalk St. Paul   026 300 X     11       14       2

WP: Taegan Mansfield-Bush (2 SO, 1 W)

LP: Ellie Vanderveen (2 SO, 0 W)

HR: (SP) Ella Kalizewski.

Triples: (SE) Lilly Burkholder.

Doubles: (SP) Taegan Mansfield-Bush, Isabella Guerra, Ella Kalizewski, Ryleigh Mansfield-Bush.

Multiple hits: (SE) Madi Smith 3, Paige Miller, Lilly Burkholder; (SP) Ryleigh Mansfield-Bush, Ella Kalizewski, Taegan Mansfield-Bush, Mallorie Sowers, Payton Preston.

Records: Seneca East 7-13; Norwalk St. Paul 14-9.

Next: Seneca East at Bucyrus Saturday; Monroeville vs. Norwalk St. Paul, Division VII district semifinal, Wednesday.