BUCYRUS — With the Northern 10 softball schedule, a team faces each of the other league teams in two-day increments — barring weather cancelations.

League-leading Bucyrus was in the difficult position of playing two other top teams in the N10 — Mohawk and Colonel Crawford — in the same week.

The Lady Redmen finished that gauntlet Friday in style, defeating Colonel Crawford, 11-1, in six innings to remain in first place alone. They had previously beaten the Eagles, 6-3, on Wednesday and split with Mohawk.

“What I like about it is I see improvement almost every game that we play, and this here was no exception,” Bucyrus coach Jerry Hargis said. “We’re moving right along; we’re getting a little better at the right time.”

The Lady Redmen used two big innings to essentially seal the deal. They had a five-run third inning and followed that with a four-run fourth, in which they knocked Eagles’ starter Alivia Studer from the circle.

It was more than enough for Bucyrus (14-2, 11-1 N10) started Caleigh Rister, who moves to 12-1 on the year and continues to lead the league in earned run average.

“Rister’s the best in the league,” Colonel Crawford coach Sarah Fraser said. “To see her twice in (three) days, that’s tough. We made adjustments in practice (Thursday), but unfortunately, they didn’t translate out here in the game today.”

“What can you say about Caleigh? Hargis asked. “She comes out here and just throws the ball. That was the difference in this game — who is on the mound.”

Rister struck 11 Eagles and walked none — amazing for most high school softball pitchers but a day at the office for Rister. She gave up one run on five hits.

Studer matched shutout innings with Rister in the first two frames before the Lady Redmen offense erupted.

With one out, Rister walked and Studer then got a strikeout for the second out of the inning. Rister stole second and third and came home on a single by her sister, Addy, who moved to second on a single by Jade Torres.

Ashley Davis was hit by a pitch to load the bases and a walk to Taisha Spears drove in the second run. The big blow of the inning came off the bat of Faith Schifer, who rammed a double to dead center field that cleared the bases for a 5-0 Bucyrus lead.

“This is a gut check, a heart check, a head check,” Fraser said. “We explained to them this is the game that you love. A lot of these girls play the year round. This is what they love to do. Right now, we’re just not seeing that.”

In the fourth, Caleigh Rister doubled with one out. A hit batter ad two walks ended Studer’s day on the mound. Lauren Frietchen came in and walked Spears for an RBI and Schifer drove in two more with a single.

After Colonel Crawford (16-3, 11-3) scored its run in the sixth on a single by Allison Weithman, a passed ball and a single by Jostyn Gallant, Bucyrus’ Natalie Hankins ended the game with a sharp single to right.

Davis and Schifer singled and pinch hitter Hannah Ireton walked. Hankins’ single plated Davis and Schifer with the game-winner.

Schifer led the Redmen offense with five runs batted in. She had two singles and a double. Torres, Davis, and Hankins singled twice, Caleigh Rister doubled and Addy Rister singled.

Weithman had three singles, while Gallant and Jocelyn Shade had one single each. Studer struck out four and walked five along with two hit batters.

“I told them we are not the team the scoreboard reflects,” Fraser said. “We haven’t been mentally focused getting things done for probably the last week-and-a-half or two weeks. We’re taking this weekend to mentally refocus. We have big league games coming up next week and then we go to tournament. It’s time to mentally redo some things.”

Even with two big dogs in the rearview mirror, Hargis realizes that nothing is clinched yet, with Upper Sandusky looming for two games next week.

“I can remember in ’11, ’12 and ’13, we won the league,” Hargis said. “We were undefeated going to Upper Sandusky and they shellshocked us, 7-0. We ended up winning league, but they always play good softball.

“We’re focusing more and more and more and getting better and better and better,” Hargis said. “I don’t know what our limit is. I was worried early in the year. Now, I’m feeling more comfortable.”

Box score

Colonel Crawford    000 001 X         1       5        0

Bucyrus                        005 402 X       11     11       0

WP: Caleigh Rister (11 SO, 0 W)

LP: Alivia Studer (4 SO, 5 W)

HR: None.

Triples: None.

Doubles: (B) Caleigh Rister, Faith Schifer.

Multiple hits: (CC) Allison Weithman 3; (B) Faith Schifer 3, Jade Torres, Ashley Davis, Natalie Hankins.

Records: Colonel Crawford 16-4, 11-3; Bucyrus 14-2, 11-1 N10.

Next: Ridgedale at Colonel Crawford, Monday; Bucyrus at Upper Sandusky, Monday.