Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
The Press area had three local teams advance to regional play in softball, which included Lake, Gibsonburg and Clay.
LAKE NEARLY STUNS BRYAN
The Flyers advanced to the Division IV regional final on May 29, where they nearly knocked off undefeated Bryan and its NC State-bound pitcher, Thea Staten, before dropping a heartbreaker, 3-2.
Lake’s junior third baseman Norah Demory gave Lake (20-8) the early lead with a two-run double just inside the line in left in the third inning. However, the Flyers missed a chance to add on, stranding a pair in scoring position, to conclude the inning, and that came back to haunt them.
In the fifth, Lake’s starting pitcher Parker Dart was cruising along. Bryan had put a runner on second with two outs following a sacrifice bunt, but the Golden Bears tallied three-consecutive RBI singles from the 9-1-2 batters in their lineup to take the lead.
That was all Staten needed as she struck out six of the final seven batters she faced, including the side in the seventh, to finish with 16 total whiffs.
Dart struck out a pair while allowing five hits and zero walks over six frames.
Maddison Ankney started the third-inning rally with an opposite-field single to right center. Myah Wypyhoski followed with a walk one out later, and Demory scored them both with her double. After a walk from Sailor Lindell with two outs, Staten got a ground out to prevent further damage.
The Flyers defeated Perry 2-0 in the regional semifinal behind a complete-game shutout from Dart. Demory also hit a solo home run and scored the second run on a throwing error while advancing from first to third on a single.
Lake’s regional final appearance was the first in program history. The team has made consecutive regional appearances for the first time, as well.
TOUGH START DOOMS GIBSONBURG
Gibsonburg (18-4) fell behind 9-0 through four innings in a 13-3 loss to Mohawk in a Division VII regional semifinal on May 27.
The Warriors struck for one in the first, four in the second, one in the third and three more in the fourth. Mia Brink’s two-run double in the fifth inning scored Brooklyn Smith and Elly Evarts for Gibsonburg’s first two runs.
Mohawk added four more over the next two innings before the Golden Bears concluded the game’s scoring with a solo home run from Emma Jividen in the seventh.
Alivia Wauford went the distance for Gibsonburg, striking out seven. Five different Golden Bears recorded a hit, including Hannah Crispen, Wauford and Evarts, in addition to Brink and Jividen, who also walked twice.
ANOTHER TOUGH START HAMPERS CLAY
Clay (22-6) also suffered a tough start in a Division II regional semifinal against Westerville Central on May 27.
The Warhawks scored eight runs over the first three innings, including five in the third, to advance to the regional final, where they knocked off local powerhouse Anthony Wayne 1-0 to advance to the state semifinal.
Lily Cordell had a team-best two hits along with one run scored from the leadoff spot for the Eagles. Maddie Franke, who will participate in a home run derby for high school seniors at Fifth Third Field on June 10, delivered her final prep dinger with a 1-for-2, two-RBI performance. Grace Montgomery, Belle Ringle, and Ellie Haynes also had one hit apiece, while Haynes had the team’s third RBI. Vanessa Wilk added the other run.
Emily Cordell struck out a pair over 1.2 innings for Clay, while Zoi Zahradnik went the rest of the way, striking out three over 4.1 frames.
