FINDLAY (Crawford County Now) — Pitcher Aubrey Gottfried was too focused on assuring Mohawk made it to the Division VII regional finals to notice that she broke yet another record.

“I didn’t know that. I think it’s really cool,” the junior said. “I didn’t even know I was close to it actually.”

The Lady Warriors supported their ace as they have all year, banging out 14 hits on their way to a 13-3 regional semifinal victory Wednesday afternoon.

Gottfried set the Northern 10 Athletic Conference career strikeouts record in the fourth inning. She has amassed 784 strikeouts to surpass the mark of 778 held by Colonel Crawford’s Sydney Studer.

“We haven’t played in this type of heat yet, so I’m glad we got this before the next game. Now we’re ready for it.

“I got a little iffy there for a minute. But I’ve just got to make sure my mechanics are good, throw the ball and trust my defense,” she said.

Gottfried had 9 total strikeouts with 2 walks on 119 pitches.

The Golden Bears scored a pair in the fifth and added a solo home run by Emma Jividen in the seventh.

“After that inning I was like, “All right, that’s their one inning. Shut it off there. You’re done,” Gottfried said. “I had to clear my head in the dugout and reset my game.”

Gottfried and teammates Emily Brickner and Katie Woodland all hit dingers to key the win.

Emily Brickner started things off with a 2-run blast to center field in the second inning. Gottfried followed with a 3-run shot that drove in Woodland and Emily Brickner in the fourth.

Woodland’s 2-run shot in the seventh punctuated the game at 12-2.

Mohawk (25-3) plays Edgerton (18-4) here on Friday at 5 p.m. A trip to Akron for the state Final Four is the prize.

Edgerton knocked off No. 4 Ayersville 2-0 in the other semifinal.

“We talked this week about being consistent at the plate. We had some aggressive base running in the first part of the game with fake bunts, steals and things that we’ve been working on. We did a great job of getting runners in scoring position,” head coach Mindy Walton said.

Gottfried’s work in the circle isn’t taken for granted by her coach or teammates.

“Aubrey, another stellar performance. The pitching is really why we’re here. If we didn’t have someone who can move and locate like her, it might be a different story.”

Mohawk’s defense also played exceptionally as it marks the third post-season game without an error.

“Emily had that one catch at shortstop. Kaci Steyer (center fielder) had that one in her glove. It actually took the glove off her hand and over the fence. She’s only a freshman.”

Both Brickners, Gottfried and Woodland earned first-team all N10 honors, with Woodland voted Player of the Year.

Megan Johnson, another freshman, made a couple of nice catches at second base.

Gibsonburg bows out at 17-4. Head coach Sarah Gruner admitted her team hadn’t faced a team with the number of weapons that Mohawk possesses.

“Mohawk’s a solid team. Every single one of those girls can hit. Strong pitcher, strong everywhere. They had some great catches,” she said.

“We had a few errors and mental mistakes, and they deserved the win today. They had some great innings, but we kept our heads up. We told our hitters look low, don’t chase that high ball.”

Walton again attributed her team’s hitting prowess to off-season drills and extra work.

“Hats off to them for doing that work. They got some momentum, but we did a good job defensively of shutting them down and then came back and scored a couple more runs.”

After last year’s loss to Monroeville in the state semifinals, Gottfried said her team wants to get back.

“We were pretty young. But we need to take it one game at a time. The experience tells us what to expect and we can pass that down to our underclassmen and what to expect in games coming up.”

A 4-2 loss to Monroeville ended a storybook season at 25-6.

“To be back in this position, I feel like tonight we had the edge a little with our experience. We know what it means to be here. The crowd really gets your adrenaline going,” Walton said.

“From here on all out, it’s anybody’s game. It’s good teams. Expect great defense and good pitching.”

She thinks that state trip has served as motivation.

“We ended last season with a bit of a chip on our shoulder. We felt that state semi game could have gone in either direction. They’ve played with that little chip on their shoulder all season.”

Box score

Mohawk         141 301 3       13     14      0

Gibsonburg   000 020 1          3       5       3

WP: Aubrey Gottfried (9 SO, 2 W)

LP: Alivia Wauford (5 SO, 3 W)

HR: (M) Emily Brickner, Aubrey Gottfried, Katie Woodland; (G) Emma Jividen.

Triples: None.

Doubles: (M) Mallory Brickner, Elyn Hetzel, Blake Miller, Katie Woodland; (G) Mia Brink.

Multiple hits: (M) Emily Brickner 3, Elyn Hetzel 3, Katie Woodland, Aubrey Gottfried, Kaci Steyer.

Records: Mohawk 25-3; Gibsonburg 17-4.

Next: Mohawk vs. Edgerton, Division VII regional final at Findlay, Friday; Gibsonburg season over.