Warriors wallop Gibsonburg 13-3, advance to regional final

FINDLAY – Mohawk has been here before.Mohawk and Gibsonburg, two powerhouses in their respective conferences met at Babcock Field on Wednesday in Division VII regional semifinals action and Mohawk had control of the game from the start, and ultimately won 13-3.The Warriors will now face Edgerton. The two will duel it out for a ticket to the Final Four on Friday at Babcock Field in Findlay at 5 p.m."We talked a lot this week about being consistent at the plate," Mohawk coach Mindy Walton said. "Score and be aggressive. Fake bunts and steals, they did a great job at securing bases, and putting scorers into running positions."The bats got hot early on for the Warriors (25-3). Mallory Brickner doubled to center field, driving in Kaci Steyer and Elyn Hetzel, making it 3-0.After that, Emily Brickner whacked the ball over the fence and nearly hit the scoreboard for a homer, bringing in sister Mallory Brickner in the top of the second inning, making it 5-0.The excitement didn't end there.Aubrey Gottfried broke the Northern 10 Athletic Conference record for career strikeouts. She broke the record in the bottom of the third inning at 779, and in total right now has 784. The record was previously held by Sydney Studer of Colonel Crawford at 778 that was set between 2015-2018."I honestly didn't even know that I was close," Gottfried said. "I'm happy to know that I broke that. That's so cool that happened."The Golden Bears (18-4) just came off of winning the last Sandusky Bay Conference River Division title on Tuesday at Lakota. They were going to fight until the very last out."Mohawk is a very solid team," Gibsonburg coach Sarah Gruner said. "We knew coming in that every single girl could hit. They have a strong pitcher and great catchers. Unfortunately, it didn't go our way. We had a few errors, some mental mistakes, and you can't have that against a team like Mohawk. They deserve this win."With two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, Mia Brink doubled on a line drive that drove in Brooklyn Smith and Elly Evarts, but left Emma Jividen stranded on third base. It was 9-2, and those runs were the first of the tournament that was on Gottfried."I definitely didn't want them to score again," Gottfried said. "I was like 'okay, that's your one inning shut them off there and you're done.' I had to reset my mind in the dugout and tell myself, it's a new ballgame."Katie Woodland sent the ball sailing to over the left field wall in the seventh, making it 12-2.Blake Miller lined a double and drove in the extra insurance run of Sarah Haubert."They are more confident and ready," Walton said. "A little more ready and they know what to expect. What it means to be here, the crowd, the area line. To be in this position again, I feel like we have an edge from being in this position before."The last run for Gibsonburg came more on an error when Jividen sent the ball sailing up the center, and Steyer thought she caught it, but the force of the ball took itself and Steyer's glove over the fence in the bottom of the seventh inning.It was ruled a dinger.Throughout the game, there were no shortages of defensive stops and almost perfect pitching from the Warriors, even with the one that slipped away."There were great catches in the outfield," Walton said. "Particularly with Kaci Steyer. Hats off to her, as she is only a freshman. For her to make plays like that is really exciting to see. The pitching that Aubrey is doing is really why we are here. If we didn't have someone that can move and locate like her, then it might be a different story."Gottfried allowed three runs on five hits while fanning nine and walking three. Alivia Wauford allowed 13 runs on 14 hits with seven strikeouts and three walks.The veteran team made it to the state semifinals last season before falling to Monroeville. "We ended last season with a bit of a chip on our shoulder," Walton said. "That state semifinal game could have gone in either direction really but they have played with a chip on their shoulder all season long and they want to prove a point. I am excited to see where that little chip leads."The Warriors have four freshmen this season, but the remainder of the team are the ones from last season that have shown the underclassmen just how to handle the pressure and let the Mohawk tradition of winning. "We are obviously hoping and wanting to get back," Gottfried said. "We are a pretty young team, without any seniors. We have to take it one game at a time and we are only worried about our next game. We never know when it could be our last. Having the experience definitely helps us and we know what to expect now. We shared that down to our underclassmen on how to act and what to expect in these next couple of games coming up."Mohawk's next focus shifts to Edgerton. The Bulldogs (18-4) ended Calvert's run in the postseason last week and ended Defiance Ayersville's season on Wednesday 2-0. The fight to get back to the final four for the Warriors is not going to be an easy feat."From here on out, it's anybody's game," Walton said. "Whether you are down to the sweet sixteen, the elite eight, the final four, whatever you are at, it's good teams from here on out. I expect good defense and great pitching."