LUCKEY — Eastwood’s softball team won the Northern Buckeye Conference championship Thursday with a 6-3
win over fifth-ranked Elmwood.
Sam Shirling allowed just three hits over the first 5 2/3 innings, and the Eagles put the game away
during the first five innings with a 6-0 lead.
Cassidy Rolf and Marissa Tudor each had two hits for Eastwood, including a home run by Rolf to open the
scoring in the bottom of the first.
The Eagles finished the season 27-2 overall and 13-1 in the NBC. Elmwood is 24-4 overall and was 12-2 in
the NBC. PHOTO
GALLERY
The
arch-rivals entered the game with 12-1 records in the NBC, setting up a winner-take-all meeting for
first place.
Every other team in the NBC had at least four losses.
Eastwood avenged a 9-4 loss at Elmwood May 1.
“I’m proud of the team,” said Eastwood coach Joe Wyant, whose team returned four starters from last
season when it was 29-4, 11-3.
Eastwood advanced to the Division III state semifinals last season.
“They’ve played well all year and they’ve really come a long way,” Wyant said. “The returning players did
a good job of leading the way and the new girls really stepped up. Everyone contributed to our success
this season and that was the case again today.”
The Royals, who won the conference last season, had won 12 straight NBC games after losing to Rossford in
their opener.
Elmwood is still alive in the Division III state tournament.
The Royals play Ottawa-Glandorf or top-ranked and defending state champion Bloom-Carroll in a regional
semifinal Saturday.
Elmwood was coming off a 2-1, nine-inning win Wednesday against fourth-ranked New London in a regional
semifinal. The Eastwood game was the Royals’ third in three days after playing five games last week.
Thursday’s game was a makeup of a contest that was originally rained out April 15, but was rescheduled at
least twice because of weather and tournament conflicts.
“That finally caught up to us,” Elmwood coach Matt Hoiles said. “We pretty much gave it to them. You play
a nine-inning regional semifinal and then have to come back and play this game … Miranda (Benschoter,
Elmwood’s pitcher) wasn’t on her game and we made some serious mistakes that we normally don’t make.
“It’s a shame we had to play this game,” Hoiles added. “I don’t like to make excuses, but that’s a pretty
good one there.”
Rolf’s homer, her fifth of the season, was to left field on a 1-0 pitch with two out.
“It’s crucial in any game which team scores first,” Wyant said. “The team that scores first has a big
advantage.”
The Eagles scored in the second on Tudor’s single through the hole between third and short, took second
on Morgan Getz’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Michaela Bunge’s single through the hole between first and
second.
Eastwood increased the lead to 3-0 in the third when Mackenzie Albright hustled out a bloop double
between the shortstop and the left fielder to start the inning and scored on Anna Rahrig’s double to the
left-center field gap with two out.
“That was huge, too, to keep increasing the lead,” Wyant said.
Krista Jennings, Rolf and Getz had RBI singles in the fifth for Eastwood.
Elmwood scored twice in the sixth and once in the seventh.
The Eagles had nine hits against Benschoter.
“We went up there with confidence and tried to swing at strikes,” Rolf said.
Eastwood struck out just four times, but only one came over the first three innings.
“We put the ball in play,” said Wyant, whose team scored half of its runs with two out. “We got those
two-out hits. We got clutch hits and that’s what you have to do to beat a great team like Elmwood.”
Shirling pitched well, striking out six and walking two. Only one of Elmwood’s runs was earned as
Eastwood made four errors.
“(Shirling) was in a groove,” Wyant said. “She threw hard, especially early. That’s as hard as I’ve seen
her throw. She pitched well today and she’s pitched well all year. She threw a lot of strikes.”
Elmwood left eight runners, four in scoring position.
“If they had gotten a clutch hit or two, we could still be playing,” Wyant said.
EASTWOOD 6, ELMWOOD 3
ELMWOOD 000 002 1—3 7 0
EASTWOOD 111 030 X—6 9 4
BATTING LEADERS
HITS —(EL) Benschoter 3, Myers, Harvey, Schmitz, J. Marsh; (EA) Rolf 2, Tudor 2, Albright, Jennings,
Rahrig, Getz, Bunge. 2B — (EL) Schmitz; (EA) Albright, Rahrig. 3B —(EL) Myers; HR —(EA) Rolf. RUNS —
(EL) Myers, George, Schmitz; (EA) Albright 2, Rolf 2, Jennings, Tudor. RBI — (EL) Harvey, Schmitz, J.
Marsh; (EA). SB — (EA) Albright 2. SAC —(EA) Getz. LOB — Elmwood 8, Eastwood 5. DP — Eastwood.
PITCHING SUMMARY
IP H R ER BB SO
ELMWOOD
Benschoter (LP) 6 9 6 6 1 4
EASTWOOD
Shirling (WP) 7 7 3 1 2 6