Chieftains blast Bulldogs 13-2 to win regional championship

GIBSONBURG – Heartbreak no more.For exactly 365 days, Hopewell-Loudon has had to think about a regional final loss to Hillsdale in which the Chieftains nearly rallied in the seventh inning.There were no dramatics Friday as No. 3-ranked H-L pounced on Edgerton for six runs in the top of the first inning and cruised to a 13-2, five-inning thrashing of the Bulldogs in a Division IV regional championship game at Gibsonburg High School."We talked about getting a little better start because we didn't do that the other night," said H-L coach Tony Malagon of being scoreless the first three innings against Lincolnview. "Just the way the bracket laid, we weren't the home team. We wanted to make sure we got off to a faster start than we did the last game."The Chieftains improved to 30-0 overall and will face Parkway (22-5) at 3 p.m. Friday in a state semifinal at Akron Firestone Stadium."As a senior, this is very exciting," H-L center fielder Taryn Hampton said. "Losing last year by a run was heart breaking. I'm excited to see what comes."The top of the order set the tone quickly for Hopewell-Loudon. Hampton doubled to right-center field before Kylee Malagon poked a double to the fence in left field to score a run. Shea Harper was hit by a pitch before Isabelle Beidelschies singled into the outfield to score Malagon. A fielding error on the play allowed a second run to score and Beidelschies to take second."That's what we've seen and what we expect," said coach Malagon of his top four hitters. "That's why those girls are up there."Beidelschies moved to third on a wild pitch and scored when Ashley Daniel reached on an error. After Natalie Holman drew a walk, Brynn Sendelbach laced a two-run double to quickly put Hopewell-Loudon up 6-0.Beidelschies breezed through the Edgerton (20-8) hitters in the first inning before helping her own cause in the top of the second. With two outs, Beidelschies cranked her third home run of the season to push the lead to 7-0."Their offense is tough, but we also gave up four or five errors," Edgerton coach Marchetta Caryer said. "That plays a factor into those runs. Normally we're pretty solid defensively. We had a couple mishaps on the defensive end. You can't give a team like that extra outs."The Bulldogs got a little bit of offense going against Beidelschies in the second inning. Noelle Ritter led off the inning with a solo home run to get Edgerton on the board. After a groundout, Ella Miler smacked a double before Nessa Cox's RBI single cut the deficit to 7-2."We talked between innings about getting some movement back out of her pitches," Malagon said. "I could tell it was the pitch call. If I was calling a ball out and the batter rips it, I know she missed a pitch. That shows she's human. Luckily she's better more times than not."But, Hopewell-Loudon's offense didn't relent. Averaging 12.8 runs per game coming in, the Chieftains smacked four straight singles - the last by Hampton to score Sendelbach - to take an 8-2 lead in the third inning. But, H-L was tagged out twice trying to take an extra base. Being undefeated after 30 games can make it hard to nitpick, but a lesson will be taught and learned."I told them it worked this game, but going forward - and this is the reason I'm so hard on them - all the little things matter," Malagon said. "I've seen before how those little things come back and bite you."Hopewell-Loudon added a single run in the fourth inning before pushing the game into run-rule status in the fifth. Holman walked, Addy Siebenaller singled, and Hampton was hit by a pitch to load the bases. After a run-scoring single by Malagon, Harper ripped a two-run single. A third run scored on the play after another Edgerton error. The single for Harper came after being hit by a pitch twice and flying out in the second."I was not waiting back on her at all," Harper said. "I was wanting to hit the ball and not timing it quite right. I moved up in the box in my last at-bat and took the first pitch I saw. I definitely took my anger out on it."Pitching with plenty of offense behind her, Beidelschies did the rest. She allowed just two singles over the final three innings. She struck out nine on the day."She's good. We had five hits off of her," Caryer said. "We came out and swung the bats. I'm proud of our kids. She's good. They're undefeated for a reason. She can bring it well."Hopewell-Loudon's offense continues its pursuit up the record books. The Chieftains, who have scored double-digit runs 24 times this year, have now scored 383 runs this season, which is unofficially tied for the fifth-most in OHSAA softball history."The offense has been really good," Malagon said. "We really take a lot of time talking about being mentally prepared for every pitch. Being able to get back and focus whether it's a good pitch or bad pitch, we preach it only takes one."The Chieftains tagged Edgerton starting pitcher Corrine Cape for seven runs on five hits in two innings. Reliever Olivia Wallace allowed six runs on seven hits in three innings."I told them we wanted to take the extra step," Malagon said. "I hope that took a little pressure off because we were back to the same point. We didn't really have anything to lose. I've been preaching since these girls were young about hanging banners. We told them to play for each either, their families and be prideful for our school."