1 bad inning proves costly in district loss

DEFIANCE – It's not always about the glory, but the progress made.Calvert came out on the wrong end of a battle of two No. 1 seeded teams in Division VII against Edgerton. Four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning toppled Calvert 4-3 in a district final on Saturday at Defiance."Edgerton is a really good team," Calvert coach Leah Bouillon said. "They had one really good inning so you have to tip your hats to them. But my team proved themselves."The Senecas (22-4) have made huge strides over the last few years, and its that growth and progress that has brought Calvert to opportunities. Through the season, it had multiple state-ranked wins not only in Division VII but from higher divisions as well."We are here doing the right things," Bouillon said. "We are putting the ball into play. We are playing hard games during the season and in the conference."Calvert put its first run on the board as Ava Eilrich sailed a sacrifice fly to center field, which brought Gracie Miller in during the first inning. In the top of the fourth inning, Addison Sheets executed a bunt, and it was enough to chase in Claire Schoenberger as she slid in underneath the attempted tag by Edgerton (17-4).Then, Eilrich hammered a dinger over the fence to make it 3-0 in the top of the fifth.Going into the bottom of the fifth inning, Calvert was ahead 3-0. Edgerton's Morgan Cape scored on an Ayden King single, making it 3-1.Olivia Wallace helped her own cause by lining the ball and driving in King.With no outs, Swank smacked the ball to right field and plated in Alivia Farnham and Addyson King, pulling the Bulldogs ahead, 4-3.In the end, Eilrich pitched a complete game, allowing four runs on 12 hits, fanned nine and no walks. "Tiffin is a great team," Edgerton's coach Marchetta Caryer said. "We couldn't string hits together for a while and we could have given up but didn't. But we were prepared and ready to go. When you don't quit, good things happen."Wallace pitched a complete game as well allowing three runs on six hits, eight strikeouts and one walk."She stood tall and pitched like a four-year senior," Carter said of Wallace. "She was determined to make sure she had that trophy in her hands. She did what she needed to do and had a solid defense behind her. That's what it takes; pitching is a tough job and she did a great job at it."For the Senecas, being able to play the hard games means having leadership from the top down, first starting with the coaching staff, then the seniors, then the rest of the team and then the biggest supporters, the community and school."The seniors have been under the current coaching staff for four years now," Bouillon said. "They have set the foundation, and then they bring in the juniors and sophomores that love ball. I can't talk enough about them, and the freshmen are constantly learning and growing."While it was the last game for the three seniors of Sheets, Schoenberger and Scarlett Faber, the remaining members of the team are looking forward to getting back into the lab and seeing what they can do."When we are allowed to start softball again in the spring the girls will be there putting in the hard work to keep getting better, not just for themselves, but for the betterment of the team," Bouillon said. "You teach your team how to be respectful, accountable, determined and to do whatever it takes for the betterment of others. I'm very proud of them for that. Our seniors built the process, the foundation and now its coming into that.