MAUMEE — Matt Hoiles admitted Wednesday his team can frustrate him.
Tough love for an Elmwood squad that had just pulled out an 11-5 Division III district semifinal win over
Evergreen at Rolf Park? Maybe.
But Hoiles expects those types of wins. Over the last 15 years, he has built a perennial power in the
Suburban Lakes League, and now the Northern Buckeye Conference, amassing more than 300 wins.
“I’ve said all along this team can frustrate me because they’re free spirits. They really are,” Hoiles
said after Wednesday’s win. “And I’m not a free spirit. I like things just a straightened arrow.”
But perhaps the free-spirit gig is working.
After a turn through the lineup, the Royals’ hitters erupted, scoring eight times over the third and
fourth innings, quickly erasing a 2-0 hole and seamlessly guiding them to a date in the district final
with third-ranked Archbold (26-1) Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for noon.
Elmwood (21-3), playing its third game in as many days, scattered 12 hits and took advantage of six
Evergreen errors. The Royals have scored 36 runs in their last three wins — a stat Hoiles was impressed
with, though, not entirely.
“I know they know they can hit. I know they have fun. I don’t know if we’ve really found that identity,”
he said. “It’s a close-knit team. I still think they’re growing and I’m still looking for big things out
of them.
“We’re getting pretty close to figuring this thing out and I like where we’re going. I like the pace.”

The Vikings struck early, hitting Royals’ pitcher Miranda Benschoter hard, leading to a 2-0 lead after
the visitors’ half of the third. Then there a was a spark in the Elmwood lineup.
Olivia Myers, Elmwood’s 11th batter of the game, reached on an error to begin the home half of the third.
Madison Arnold later reached on a fielder’s choice and then Lindsay George laced a double down the
left-field line, scoring Arnold. George advanced to third on an error by Evergreen’s left fielder and
scored on a bloop single to left by Chelsie Schmitz on the next pitch.
“We just know that we never have to let up. Teams are going to score on us, we just have to bear down and
fight right back,” said Benschoter, who allowed nine hits and struck out nine.
Following an eight-pitch fourth inning from Benschoter, the Elmwood hitters went right back to work
sending nine batters to the dish and plating six runs in the bottom half of the inning, building an
insurmountable 8-2 lead.
Rebecca Harvey finished 3-for-4 with two RBI, while George was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Arnold and Schmitz
each added two hits and two RBI.
Then came the real praise from Hoiles.
“Once our bats get going, it’s pretty tough to stop this team,” he said. “This is probably one of the
best hitting teams, top to bottom, that I’ve ever had. And I’ve had some very good teams.”
ELMWOOD 11, EVERGREEN 5
EVERGREEN 101 012 0— 5 9 6
ELMWOOD 002 603 x—11 12 1
BATTING LEADERS
HITS —(EV) Ducat 3, Noe 2, Monahan, VanLoocke, Pember, Brandt; (EL) Harvey 3, Arnold 2, George 2, Schmitz
2, Vargas 2, Benschoter. 2B — (EV) Monaham, Ducat, Noe; (EL) Harvey, Arnold, George. RUNS — (EV) Noe 2,
Monaham, Silvestri, Pember; (EL) Arnold 3, Harvey 2, Benschoter, Myers, George, Kynard, Reiser, Vargas.
RBI — (EV) Ducat 2, Brandt 2; (EL) George 3, Harvey 2, Arnold 2, Schmitz 2, Marsh, Benschoter. SB —(EV)
Monahan; (EL) Kynard. SAC —(EV) Brock. SAC FLY — (EL) Marsh. LOB — Evergreen 5, Elmwood 6. DP — Elmwood.

PITCHING SUMMARY
IP H R ER BB SO
EVERGREEN
Brock 6 12 11 9 1 1
ELMWOOD
Benschoter 7 9 5 4 2 9