CLYDE, OH - MAY19: Perrysburg junior Maison Gerrand, left, slaps hands with senior first baseman Cassie Plummer (8), right, after an out during the second inning of a district championship game against Springfield on May 19, 2023 at Clyde High School in Clyde, Ohio. Springfield defeated Perrysburg 7-4 to advance to the regional semifinals. (Photo by: Scott W. Grau/Sentinel-Tribune)
CLYDE — The old cliché is that it is hard to beat a team three times, but No. 1 ranked Springfield softball did exactly that by taking down Perrysburg for a third time Friday.
The Blue Devils downed the Yellow Jackets, 7-4, in a Division I district final at Clyde High School’s Joe Wilson Field, ending Perrysburg’s season at 25-4.
Of Perrysburg’s four losses, three have been to Northern Lakes League champion Springfield, which will head to the regionals next week still unbeaten at 26-0.
“It’s great for our three seniors with Drey (Audrey Miller), K.K. (Kierstin Wilkin) and Mady (Yackee) because I’ve won nine of these, but this is the first group to win three in a row,” Springfield coach Rob Gwozdz said. “That’s all because of our senior leadership.”
However, the Yellow Jackets remained in striking distance throughout the game, putting runners on base every inning, including runners in scoring position every inning except the second.
When Springfield junior Ava Littin hit a 220-foot two-run homer in the bottom of the third to put the Blue Devils up 4-0, the Yellow Jackets responded with three runs in the top of the fifth to make it a one-run game.
Even though Springfield added a run in the fifth and two in the sixth, Perrysburg scored in the top of the seventh and still had two baserunners on with the tying run at the plate when Yackee got sophomore Alyssa Bradford to hit a deep fly ball to left field, caught by sophomore Kenya Crowley, who immediately dropped to her knees.
Perrysburg left 10 base runners stranded, but the Blue Devils maximized their opportunities, leaving only three runners on base. The Yellow Jackets got them on base, but couldn’t always seem to move them over.
“Obviously, you play a team like Springfield, you’ve got to be ready to go,” Perrysburg coach Ryan DeMars said. “Our girls were.
“I thought we had a good gameplan, and we had traffic on the bases every single inning, and there were times when we just couldn’t quite come through with a hit to plate runners,” DeMars continued.
“I kept telling them, ‘Stay with it, we’re right there on the brink, we got some runners on, even there in the seventh, getting a run back and having some runners on. I thought right up until the end we had a shot.”
The University of Toledo-bound Yackee, a southpaw, got the win, striking out three and walking one through seven innings.
However, Perrysburg had 13 hits, including two for extra bases and scored four runs, but had nine fly balls hit against a strong wind caught by Springfield outfielders.
Perrysburg junior Ella Leonard went 0-for-4, but made solid contact all four times, including three fly balls that were caught deep in the outfield.
“I’m just proud of the way our girls battled,” DeMars said. “Obviously, Springfield is an outstanding team.
“Mady Yackee pitched a great game, and they are extremely well-coached. They are great, and I thought we were able to come out and compete and I’m proud of our effort.”
Gwozdz said after playing the Yellow Jackets twice before, their coaches compiled a scouting report on how to pitch to each Perrysburg hitter.
“We knew we were going to get a battle from those guys,” Gwozdz said. “Great team, great young players Ryan has got over there and he’s a good friend of mine.
“When it comes right down to it, my assistant coach, Mike Haas, had us the best practice we had yesterday. He had us dialed up, he had us locked in on how to pitch to these guys and Mady did the job.”
For Perrysburg, sophomore Hayley Griggs was 3-for-4 with a double, freshman Aly Seuberling was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, and junior Jessica Miller was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
Senior Cassie Plummer had a base hit and RBI, and junior Maison Gerrard, Bradford, and freshman Morgan Hoverman had base hits and freshman Yesenia You had a base hit and stolen base.
In the circle, Gerrard struck out six, walked three, gave up eight hits, and all seven runs were earned. She had two innings where she faced just three batters, striking out two in each inning, often utliizing her change-up pitch.
Springfield sophomore Hannah Schlachter did reach on an error to lead off the fourth, but she was thrown out trying to steal by Perrysburg senior catcher Lexie Vaillant and Gerrard struck out the next two batters.
For the Blue Devils, Littin had a double and three RBIs to go with her homer and Yackee was 3-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and she scored twice.
Springfield junior Olivia Rompf was 2-for-3 with an RBI, sophomore Callee Chappetta had a base hit, sacrifice bunt and RBI, and Schlachter had a stolen base.
DeMars says even though the Yellow Jackets’ season has ended, the future looks bright for the program.
“We have two seniors (Vaillant, Plummer) who will graduate, but I believe that means, yeah, we are bringing back a lot of kids. The future next year is looking bright,” DeMars said.
“We’re looking forward to next season. Right now, we are about enjoying this season. We had a lot of success. We are proud of what we did on the field and looking forward to the future.”
DeMars said competing in the Northern Lakes League, which could boast of three state-ranked teams this season, Springfield, Anthony Wayne, and Perrysburg, helps his program get better.
“The NLL is amazing,” DeMars said. “At one time, we were ranked eighth, so we had three of the top right ranked teams in the state. It’s such a great league and it’s so fun and competitive.
“It’s just a good environment for the girls to go through that competitive softball and to see what is that next level that we need to get to.
“Springfield certainly has been setting the standard and we are going to have to wait to try and get them next year.”
