GIBSONBURG — Makenzie Back and her Plymouth teammates were in complete control for six-and-a-half innings Wednesday afternoon, but it all came undone in the bottom of the seventh.
Edgerton scored three unearned runs with two out in the bottom of the seventh inning for a stunning, 3-2 walk-off win in a Division IV regional semifinal game at windswept Gibsonburg High School.
“This group just has no quit and they’ve been this way all year,” Edgerton coach Marchetta Caryer said. “We’ve gotten behind quite a few times this season and this group has just found a way.
“There’s no better way to find a way than today.”
The Big Red (16-11) scored both of their runs in the top of the first. Leadoff hitter Chloe Trine bunted for a base hit to start the game and came all the way around to score on Bree Fellows’ double to left. Aryssa Horne’s two-out double plated Fellows.
“I was feeling great,” Plymouth coach Bryon Bailey said of the early lead, “especially with the way ‘Mac’ has been throwing.”
Back struck out the first five hitters she faced and, after a single from Ella Miler, recorded her sixth strikeout to end the second.
She retired the next five hitters before surrendering a single to Noelle Ritter with two out in the fourth. Ritter was left stranded as Back induced another groundout to end the inning.
Miler singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth, but Back induced a pair of groundouts and a popout to end the inning.
The Bulldogs (20-6) mounted a threat in the home half of the sixth. Lola Giesige reached on an error to start the inning and moved to second on Casey Everetts’ sacrifice bunt. After a groundout and a flyout, Back intentionally walked the dangerous Ritter to put runners at first and second before recording her ninth strikeout to end the threat.
“She’s been pretty dominant,” Bailey said of Back. “Makenzie has always thrown hard and now she’s got different pitches. She’s got a lot of movement, which makes her tough to hit.”
After going quietly in the top of the seventh, Plymouth needed just three outs to advance to Friday’s regional championship game.
It wasn’t to be.
Miler led off with a single to center for her third hit of the game. Back then registered her 10th and final strikeout for the first out of the inning. It nearly turned into a strike-out, throw-out double-play as Miler got hung up between first and second, but the base umpire ruled Miler got back to first ahead of the tag of Plymouth shortstop Jaylin Branham.
Bailey appealed the call, but to no avail.
“I thought (Branham) tagged her,” Bailey said. “She said she touched her and (the umpires) said she didn’t and they overrule everybody.”
Miler advanced to second on Olivia Wallace’s groundout to short and scored when Alivia Farnham’s ground ball was misplayed for a double-error on the Plymouth infield.
Farnham would score the game-tying run on another infield error after a ground ball off the bat of Giesige, before Everetts singled to center to put runners at first and second. Plymouth’s fourth error of the inning on Corinne Cape’s ground ball allowed Giesige to score the game-winning run, sending the Edgerton faithful into a frenzy.
“The great thing about this team is, out of our nine hitters, everybody is right around .300,” Caryer said. “The bottom of the lineup showed up today. That’s a credit to them.
“We put the ball in play when it mattered.”
Miler had three of Edgerton’s five hits. Everetts and Ritter had the others.
Horne led the way for the Big Red with a pair of hits. Trine, Fellows, Cailynn Bailey and Lilly Cook had the others.
Edgerton will play Hopewell-Loudon for the regional title and a berth in next week’s state semifinals at 5 p.m. Friday in Gibsonburg. Hopewell-Loudon beat Lincolnview 9-1 in Wednesday’s late game.
Plymouth was making its first regional appearance since 2016. The Big Red were 8-8 at the end of April.
“I think we were 8-8 at one time and we finished at 16-11,” Bailey said. “This (senior) group … I learned as much from them as they did from me. They are tremendous people. The world is going to be a better place with them in it.”
