Holly Earl's walk-off hit lifts Mapleton softball to sectional title over Dalton

NANKIN — Holly Earl might have just one-upped her twin sister, Heidi, with her walk-off RBI-single to lift the Mapleton softball team to a 5-4 win over Dalton in the bottom of the seventh inning Friday in the Northeast Division III sectional championship game.

Mapleton (14-3) moves on to district play at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Norwayne High School against a to-be-determined opponent.

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Holly Earl singled in the third inning and rode home on Heidi Earl’s two-run round-tripper to center to stake Mapleton to a 4-1 lead.

In the seventh, Audrey Hellicson led off with an infield single, went to third as Faith Lowery laid down a sacrifice bunt where Dalton also committed a throwing error.

Holly Earl then rocked a single to left to plate Hellickon with the game-winning run.

“I was definitely stressed with two strikes and just tried to put the ball in play, even if it was out in the outfield, and we could tag up and score a run with no outs,” Holly Earl said. “I was definitely looking for a nice outside pitch or inside, but no change-ups. I didn’t want to hit a change-up.”

Heidi Earl also talked about her two-run dinger that extended Mapleton’s lead.

“That felt good, it just brought in some more runs to help us out, and give us a little more cushion,” she said. ”It helps us out and it helps (Emilee Dennison) as a pitcher. too; gives her a little less stress.”

Dennison, who tossed seven innings and got the win in the circle for the Mounties, yielded four runs on 10 hits with four strikeouts and a pair of walks.

“We got out of the sectional finals for the past three, four years, so we just really wanted this win for the seniors, and we knew we had to give it our all, and we didn’t let up on the gas,” Dennison said. “I think everybody’s mindset was just do your job, get each other in, help each other out and we’ll get the result we want.”

Ava Fivecoat also pitched well for the Bulldogs, giving up five runs, three earned, on six hits with seven strikeouts and one walk.

“Ava pitched a fantastic game and the opposing pitcher did a really good job,” Dalton coach Rod Fiesler said, adding his team’s five errors hurt their cause. “Watching this game, the errors are what got us today. If we remove a couple of those errors, it’s a whole different ballgame. It is what it is and you play the game the way you play it, but I’m proud of my girls.”

Mapleton went up 2-0 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first, both unearned because of a trio of Dalton errors. Dalton then scored single runs in the second and fourth to cut Mapleton’s lead to 4-3 before they tied the game at 4-4 in the seventh on a two-run homer by Sidney Geiser.

“I know they came in as an 11th seed but they’re not an 11th seed, they’re more like a 6 seed. They’re tough, they’re good,” said Mapleton coach Dan Sanders, who said his team took advantage of Dalton’s errors. “We try to create chaos and put people in uncomfortable positions, and good things will happen. It was the entire team who did it, one through nine.”

The Earl sisters and Hellickson all had a pair of hits for Mapleton, with Hannah Wenger and Geiser also getting two hits for Dalton.

“I think we can go pretty far, we’ve all earned this, and we’re all here playing for Bre,” said Holly Earl, in reference to Breanne McKean, a former senior teammate who died in the fall. “I think we all have something to play for.”

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Mapleton's Holly Earl connects on walk-off hit in Mounties win