OHSAA softball: Jonathan Alder to play for Division II title; Heath, Watkins Memorial lose
Throughout its Division II state semifinal matchup June 2 at Firestone Stadium in Akron, the Jonathan Alder softball team made Oak Harbor pay for its mistakes.
The Pioneers, making their fifth state appearance in eight seasons, took advantage of errors by the Rockets in the first and third innings to build an early lead and got a solo inside-the-park home run from second baseman and leadoff hitter Danielle Robbins in the fifth to seize control.
With a 5-0 victory, Jonathan Alder will play Wooster Triway for the title at 10 a.m. June 4.
While the Pioneers won their first state title in 2019, Triway was the state runner-up last season.
Jonathan Alder is 26-1 and Triway is 30-1. Triway beat Heath 3-0 in the other state semifinal.
"We just made sure to go all out and to take advantage of everything we got," Robbins said. "I feel like we never let up. At this level in the tournament, you need to be ready for anything.
"I knew going up to bat (in the fifth) that I needed to get a hit for my team, so I just waited for my pitch and sat on it. We always practice to keep running until the coach stops you, so that's exactly what I did. I always come out of that batter's box looking for lots of bases."
Robbins got things started when she reached on an error to open the game. She then stole second, moved to third on a sacrifice by shortstop Evan Platfoot and scored on a wild pitch by Reagan Schultz.
In the third inning, Robbins hit a ball to left center that was misplayed by left fielder Emily Sommers. Robbins came all the way around to score after a poor throw-in by center fielder Alyse Sorg to make it 2-0.
Platfoot followed with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice by catcher Kylie King and scored on another error by Sommers.
The Pioneers scored their final run in the seventh when Platfoot singled, stole second and scored on a single by King.
Marlee Jacobs pitched a four-hitter, striking out seven with no walks, and Platfoot finished 3-for-3.
"We really kept our energy up the entire game no matter what happened," Platfoot said. "We continued to cheer each other on and never got down on ourselves. It feels awesome to go to the championship (game)."
—Jarrod Ulrey
Wooster Triway 3, Heath 0
Sophomore pitcher Carter Wachtel struck out 15 in a two-hitter and delivered the biggest hit of the game, a two-out, two-run triple that propelled the Titans over the Bulldogs in Akron.
"We had our opportunities, but they were able to string some hits together and we weren't," Heath coach Ray Cooksey said after the Bulldogs left seven runners on base. "We couldn't get the two-out hit we needed."
Heath left runners at first and second in the first, and Triway put together the inning it needed in the second.
Katie Hoffa, Hanna Massaro and Clowie Finner had consecutive singles off Sydney Chapman, producing a 1-0 lead. With two outs, Wachtel lined a triple over center fielder Savannah Lawson, making it 3-0.
Chapman didn't allow another hit over her next two innings, and Renae Cunningham yielded just two hits over her three innings.
Despite Wachtel's dominance, Heath had its chances. The best came in the fifth, when Emma Ghiloni had the Bulldogs' first hit, an infield single, and stole second. After Cunningham was walked with one out, Katlyn Jardine flew out to Hanna Massaro down the left-field line in foul territory. Ghiloni tried to score, but Massaro threw her out at the plate.
Chapman kept Heath alive with a two-out bloop single in the seventh, but Wachtel recorded her final strikeout to end the game.
—Dave Weidig, Newark Advocate
Holland Springfield 4, Watkins Memorial 2
Freshman Camryn Eckhart's two-run homer in the fourth inning of a Division I state semifinal sparked the Blue Devils, who were swept by the Warriors in a regular-season doubleheader.
"We put everything we had into scouting and preparing for this great Watkins team, and it played out," said 21st-year coach Rob Gwozdz, whose team will make its first state final appearance June 4.
"Games at this level are coin-flip games," Watkins coach Mike Jellison said. "You're playing great teams, like we did in the regional, and today, we lost the coin flip."
Junior left-hander Mady Yackee, who will pitch at Toledo, kept her team in the game after the Warriors scored once in the first. Things turned in a hurry in the fourth against Watkins sophomore Carsyn Cassady.
Ava Littlin reached on an error, and Eckhart homered over the left-field fence for a 2-1 lead. In the fifth, Cassady issued her fourth and fifth walks, and the runners scored on Eckhart's squeeze bunt and P.J. Turner's two-out RBI single.
"They figured out the sequence of what we were thinking," said Cassady, who allowed eight hits and struck out nine. "They made the adjustments. I was going high and low, in and out, and they really picked up on it."
Yackee pitched a six-hitter, striking out nine and walking one.
Watkins tried to rally in the sixth when Hannah Hunt doubled and scored on Jordyn Wycuff's single, but Yackee retired the next three batters and three in a row in the seventh.
—Dave Weidig, Newark Advocate
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