Wapak falls to Defiance in district final

MILLER CITY — Leading 7-6 and needing just three outs going into the top of the seventh, Wapakoneta was hoping Defiance, which had played catch-up all day, had used up all its offensive punch.

But the Bulldogs still had plenty of fight left in them and rallied for three runs in the top of the seventh, and then shut down the Redskins in the bottom of the frame to celebrate a 9-7 victory and a Division II district crown Saturday.

In the pivotal seventh inning, Defiance’s Zariah Scott knotted the score at 7-7 when she blasted a home run over the center-field fence to lead off the inning. The Bulldogs continued their offensive assault with back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second. A ground-out to the third baseman gave the Redskins one of their precious outs but Abbey Zedaker roped a single up the middle to drive in two more Bulldogs and give Defiance the two-run cushion that would prove to be the difference in the game.

“Sure it is tough any time you think you are going to win or things are going your favor and you fall off the edge but it doesn’t take away from how hard these girls have worked,” said Redskin head coach Bill Sammons. “We knew it would be tough to defeat Defiance twice in a season.”

Defiance head coach Dennis Parrish said from day one that everybody talked about all the other softball programs in the area and he challenged his team with the proverbial, “why not us,” and added that Saturday they took that to heart.

“I told them that ‘you have to have a little belief in yourselves’ and they ran with it,” Parrish said.

Everything was going Wapakoneta’s way for the first three innings. Blasia Moyler helped the Redskins break out to a 6-1 lead after two frames with a home run in the opening stanza, and a two-run single in the second inning.

The score remained that way until the the top of the fourth when Defiance rallied for four runs. The big blow in the rally came when Brooklyn Miller hit a double that drove in two and cut the lead to 6-5.

Defiance tied the score in the top of the fifth. Emily Poling delivered a one-out single and then Zedaker delivered the first of her clutch hits by doubling to drive in her teammate.

The Redskins regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth stanza. Wapakoneta loaded the bases with no outs and Lexi Jacobs drove in a run on a sacrifice fly. However, the Defiance defense buckled down and allowed only one run.

For the game, Zedaker had three hits and drove in three runs. Teammates Carolyn Turner, Morgan Porter, Miller and Poling all had multiple hit performances.

Defiance’s clutch hitting was instrumental in securing the win but also credit Miller for her performance on the mound after entering the game at the onset of the third frame. Starter Teya Castillo was battered in her two innings of work, giving up six runs on seven hits.

In came Miller and she did an effective job silencing the Redskin bats. In her five innings of work, the lanky right-handed hurler limited Wapakoneta to three hits while striking out two and walking none.

“When you are down 6-1 you have got to go with your big dog and that is Brooklyn Miller,” Parrish said. “She really didn’t shut the door but she kept them in check and kept us in the game.”

By Jose Nogueras

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Reach Jose Nogueras at 567-242-0486