SHELBY — It took Seneca East’s best performance of the year to bring an end to Mansfield Christian’s historic run through the postseason.
The Tigers played error-free softball and scored the game’s lone run in the bottom of the fifth inning for a 1-0 win in the Division IV district championship game on a sun-soaked Friday afternoon at Shelby High School.
Seneca East (17-10) will play Berlin Center Western Reserve at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the Kent regional semifinals at Kent State University. Berlin Center advanced with a 6-2 win over Louisville St. Thomas Aquinas earlier this week.
Mansfield Christian concluded the year at 16-9. The Flames had never advanced to a district championship game before Friday.
“They fought. They didn’t give up,” MCS coach Kelly Taylor said. “I’m proud of them.
“I don’t want to take anything away from Seneca East. They made incredible plays.”
None was more incredible than the one third baseman Caitlyn Sauers made in the top of the seventh to preserve the victory. Mansfield Christian’s Hope Dials led off the frame with a single and stole second. She moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Kilee Stoner, bringing leadoff hitter Char Adkins to the plate with two out. Adkins smoked a 1-1 offering from Seneca East pitcher Rachel Bauman back up the middle for what appeared to be the game-tying RBI single. The ball caromed off Bauman’s knee toward third base, where Sauers alertly gathered it in and threw a bullet to first to get Adkins by a step.
“It’s the first time in school history we’ve won the district, so everybody’s pretty excited about that,” Seneca East coach Steve Coppes said. “We’ve had some games with one or two errors, but we’ve given a lot of games away with multiple errors this year. They were real focused in warm-ups and they make me look good. They went out and made the plays they had to.”
Bauman helped her own cause in the fifth, when the Tigers manufactured the game’s only run. Mykayla Ruffing drew a one-out walk and moved to third on Hannah Martin’s double to right center, bringing Bauman to the plate. The senior, who already had two hits, worked the count full against Mansfield Christian ace Lexi Falde before lifting a sacrifice fly to deep left field, plating Ruffing without a throw.
A hard-throwing junior right-hander, Falde struck out 11. She fanned the side in order in the fourth and scattered five hits.
“Lexi has been very strong all season. I’m very proud of her,” Taylor said. “I’m glad she’s a junior, I’ll get her again next year.”
The Flames had another scoring opportunity in the sixth, but Falde was stranded at third base. Seneca East catcher Holly Bordner made a spectacular diving catch in foul territory on Aimee McPeek’s sacrifice bunt attempt to short-circuit the rally.
“The only time I’ve ever seen her dive is when she tripped and fell,” Coppes joked. “It was a surprise.
“When you get into the tournament and play a quality team like that … you have to make plays like that.”
Mansfield Christian had seven hits, but four of them came with two outs. Dials and Mariah Stearns each had a pair of singles.
“Both teams played a great game,” Taylor said. That’s how it should be. It should be two competitive teams going head-to-head.”
The Flames will lose three seniors to graduation.
“I lose my shortstop (McPeek) and my third baseman (Stearns),” Taylor said. “I lose incredible leadership and my third and fourth batters in the lineup. We have big shoes to fill.”
Follow Curt Conrad on Twitter @curtjconrad.
