Which central Ohio high school softball teams won OHSAA regional semifinals?
SUNBURY — A barely audible piece of advice, whispered to an audience of one, preceded a turning point in the first inning of a Division I softball regional semifinal Wednesday.
Told in the on-deck circle by teammate Jordyn Wycuff to watch for an outside pitch from Hilliard Bradley’s Jillian Meszaros, Watkins Memorial’s Cortney Dobbs lined a double to the center-field wall to score Maleya Thompson with the eventual winning run as the second-ranked Warriors fended off Bradley 3-0 at Big Walnut and drew within a win of their fourth consecutive state tournament appearance.
“(Wycuff) said (Meszaros) would bring me out,” said Dobbs, a junior second baseman. “She hadn’t come inside yet; she was going all outside. She threw two balls to bring me outside and I got that hit.
“We all give each other good feedback. We can trust and rely on each other.”
Watkins Memorial will face No. 5 Lancaster (28-3) in a much-anticipated regional final at 5 p.m. Friday at Big Walnut.
Thompson, a junior shortstop and University of Houston commit, blasted a similar 0-and-2 pitch off the center-field wall for a two-run double in the third inning.
“At that point I was thinking hit the ball, get it on the ground and score your girls,” Thompson said. “I just happened to hit it to the fence. It kept the rally going.”
Warriors pitcher Carsyn Cassady settled in after a rocky first inning that saw the first two runners reach, including an Andrea Day double on the first pitch. An error after Loghan Cromer struck out put runners at second and third, but Cassady got two strikeouts and a pop out to end the inning.
The Michigan State signee struck out 12 and allowed three hits.
Making its second consecutive regional appearance, sixth-ranked Bradley (25-2) hung around thanks in part to three Warriors errors but stranded runners at second and third base in the first, fourth and fifth innings.
Reliever Mickey Moody induced a bases-loaded double play to end the third and struck out five in 3 ⅔ innings.
Day, a third baseman who has signed with Akron, had two hits.
“Our kids were confident and made some things happen,” Bradley coach Kevin Moody said. “We just needed to get that one elusive hit to plate somebody.”
Lancaster 10, Teays Valley 0 (5 innings)
The Golden Gales barreled into the regional final, outhitting the Vikings 13-2 and breaking the game open with four runs in both the second and fourth innings.
Jenna Spurling was 3-for-3, Kendall Brown, Reese Poston and Lily Stoughton had two hits each and Skylar Smith added a grand slam in the fourth.
Pitcher Ashlin Mowery, a junior and Louisiana State commit, struck out 10 in a complete-game win.
“The next goal is to win regional and go to state, and this is a great first step,” Mowery said. “My riseball and curveball are my go-to (pitches), but I like the up-and-down game. I have a nasty dropball and I like to get the hitters’ eyes at different levels.”
In its first regional since 2018, Teays Valley (20-8) was held to two Alyvia Lawrentz singles.
Lancaster lost to Watkins Memorial in the 2021 regional final, a regional semifinal the next year and 4-1 in a regular-season game April 20.
“I can’t wait to get to Friday with the momentum we have going,” Smith said. “We’re pitching well and putting the ball in play. We’re doing what we need to do.”
Division II
Logan Elm 8, Jonathan Alder 5
Taylor Fowler’s three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning broke a tie and sent the Braves (20-8) past No. 10 Jonathan Alder (21-5) at Pickerington Central.
Logan Elm erased a 2-0 deficit with a five-run fifth, capped by Tia Fowler’s two-run single. Lucy Caplinger added three hits for the Braves, and Sadie Binkley struck out six.
Logan Elm will play eighth-ranked Dover in Friday’s regional final.
Kiersten Dolby and Maggie McCoy each had three hits and Evan Platfoot added two, including a home run, for Jonathan Alder.
Granville 1, Lewistown Indian Lake 0 (10 innings)
Megan Lodge scored the game’s only run on a throwing error in the 10th inning, and the second-ranked Blue Aces (28-3) edged No. 9 Indian Lake (24-3) at Wright State.
Lodge was at second base when Ally Ernsberger grounded into a fielder’s choice. One runner was tagged at home before an error for Indian Lake’s catcher allowed Lodge to score.
Ernsberger, Lodge, Sophia Patena and Taylor Warehime all had two hits for Granville, which will play No. 7 Springfield Kenton Ridge in Friday’s regional final.
Ernsberger struck out 15 without a walk and allowed four hits.
Division III
West Jefferson 8, Coldwater 4 (10 innings)
A four-run, five-hit 10th inning carried the Roughriders (13-11) past Coldwater (18-12) at Findlay, continuing a postseason run that saw West Jefferson repeat as district champions despite being seeded 10th.
Kasie Sammons, Kimberly Warnock and Maddie Carruthers all had run-scoring hits in the inning, and Warnock scored the final run on a sacrifice.
Jenna Mannon threw 155 pitches, striking out 14 and allowing six hits in a complete-game win.
West Jefferson will play Oak Harbor in the regional final Friday.
Liberty Union 9, Carlisle 3
Payton Hochradel’s 3-for-3 day and two hits and three RBIs from Hayden Brunty powered the Lions (21-6) past No. 7-ranked Carlisle (27-3) at Centerville.
Suzie Shultz added two hits and struck out seven as Liberty Union advanced into Friday’s regional final against Casstown Miami East.
The Lions took the lead for good in the second, when Brooklyn Brockman’s sacrifice turned into a two-run error. Brunty’s two-run single highlighted a four-run fourth inning, and Liberty Union added two runs in the fifth and one in the seventh.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Which central Ohio softball teams won OHSAA regional semifinals?
