WILLARD — Taylor Mullins erased an afternoon’s worth of frustration with one swing of the bat.
Mullins, Ontario’s talented senior center fielder, belted a fifth-inning grand slam as the third-seeded Warriors stunned No. 2 Bellevue on that one swing to record a 4-2 victory in the nightcap of a Division II district semifinal doubleheader Tuesday at the Willard Sports Complex.
Mullins struck out in her first two plate appearances before finally getting to Bellevue ace Maci Smythe. Mullins scorched a 1-0 Smythe offering over the fence in straight-away center field to erase a 2-0 deficit and put the Warriors (19-5) ahead for good. It was her 13th homer of the season and her second in as many days after going deep in Ontario’s rain-delayed sectional final win over Vermilion on Monday.
“She’s definitely a really good pitcher. There was a confidence loss (after striking out) but I found my pitch on that last one,” Mullins said. “I figured her out a little bit, where she was going to throw me. S
“She was locating more outside knowing my pitch is inside and low.”
Autumn Taylor led off the top of the fifth with an infield single that ticked off the outstretched glove of Bellevue third baseman Emma Bauer. Olivia Kreger’s one-out single to right put runners at first and second before Alex Switaj reached on a fielder’s choice to load the bases. Smythe recorded a strikeout for the second out of the inning, bringing Mullins to the plate.
“When that ball jumped off the bat I knew right away,” Ontario coach Sean Snow said. “I think everybody did because we’ve all seen her do it. I’d love to know the exit velocity on some of the shots she’s hit.”
Bellevue (16-4) took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth when deep fly ball off the bat of Melody Sommers was misplayed in the Ontario outfield, allowing Payton Hicks and Bauer to score.
The Lady Red threatened again in the bottom of the fifth when Ella Messina singled with one out, forcing Snow to make a pitching change. Joslynne Frazier came on in relief of starter Eden Howard and struck out the first batter she faced before inducing an inning-ending groundout to to second.
“When I made the change, it wasn’t because (Howard) was throwing bad,” Snow said. “I had it set in my mind from the beginning that we were going to give them different looks. We thought once we got to the third time through their lineup … we were going to give them different looks. It can burn you or you can look great doing that.”
Bellevue went quietly in the sixth and seventh, sending Ontario into a Friday’s district championship match against fourth-seeded Clyde. The Fliers dispatched No. 5 Sandusky Perkins 10-0 in Tuesday’s early game.
“It’s great. We haven’t been in this position in so long,” Mullins said. “I’m ready to keep going.”
