Warriors plate 2 runs in 7th inning to upend Blue Jackets

KENTON - It was to get aggressive now or not move on.In a photo-worthy finish, Mohawk proved exactly why it was a serious contender in the district tournament. All it took was two runs on the board in the bottom of the seventh inning to guarantee a trip to regionals and give them one more day to play as a team.The Warriors won their 17th district title Saturday in Division VII action in a battle to the end over New Riegel, 2-1."They had their rally caps on there at the end, and they weren't going down without a fight," Mohawk coach Mindy Walton said. "Our freshman, Blake Miller, scored the winning run and it was nice to see everyone step up."It is the second time this season the teams met. They met on March 25th at the beginning of the season. The first time wasn't Aubrey Gottfried's finest moment in pitching, but they had beaten them 5-2. Last season, the Warriors fell to the Blue Jackets in districts.They didn't want a repeat.With the bases loaded for the first time in the game for Mohawk all game long, they knew it was go-time, but waited their time. As Karsyn Piper pitched on a changeup that got to the backstop and Katie Woodland sprinted to the home plate, tying the game up 1-1. Gottfried and Miller each stole a base on the same play.With Allison Russell at bat, and the crowd on both sides chanting for their respective teams made the environment seem like a Friday night game, she swung after one strike and smacked a fly ball out to center field and the Warriors loaded the bases. "I was really excited and knew that I needed to put the ball into play somewhere," Allison Russell said. "I kind of knew when I hit it that even if they caught it, they could still tag someone up and that someone could still score."Miller took off like a rocket for home plate and scored the winning run to a thunderous and proud Mohawk crowd.The Blue Jackets (21-5) held onto the lead from the third inning all the way until the seventh inning. The lone score for NR came from an Ashlyn Bouillon single that went to right field and allowed Ava Wensink to run home."We had the lead for six and one-half innings," NR coach Tony Conner said. "Going 21-5 this season and competing in one of the toughest conferences there is and not as individuals but as a team, I couldn't be more proud of them. They have come such a long way this season and we are young with freshmen and sophomores, but we know where we are heading."The Blue Jackets currently compete in the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division, but in 2026-2027, will be coming into the Northern 10 Athletic Conference, and they gave Mohawk a taste of what is to come when they become part of the league.While Walton and the Warriors didn't want to be in the position they were in, being down 1-0 going into the bottom of the seventh, Allison Russell was 2 for 2 on the day."We have gone through and messed things up and changed things up in our lineup throughout the season," Walton said "and finally found something that we have the most consistency with."The other big event in the game was sophomore Gottfried. She threw 16 strikeouts on the day, walked two. Allowed two hits, and one run.She also broke Mohawk's school record for most strikeouts in a single season with 297. She is currently the Northern 10 Athletic League leader in strikeouts with 269, leads the league in ERA at 1.79 with 142 innings pitched, and in the third place in the league with 39 RBIs at the plate."I knew it was up there, and she keeps getting better week after week," said Walton of Gottfried. "She has gotten the spot and she is doing awesome."Even she has noticed the improvement throughout the season."My first game of the season I had 10 walks, which was not good," Gottfried admitted. "I got my changeups today and hit the spots. My walks have gotten better and being able to hit the strike zone more consistently is what I have seen as far as my growth." For Piper, she has so far led the Blue Jackets on back-to-back trips to the district finals. She gave up two runs on three hits, struck out 10, and walked four."While we haven't won one district final yet, we have faith in her that she will continue working and will keep getting us into positions to be able to play," Conner said. The Warriors will now travel to a regional semifinal against Hilltop at Bowling Green State University Wednesday at 2 p.m.