Danville senior Addy Bocock struck out 16 and allowed only three singles to handcuff the Tri-Village hitters. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Julie Wright-Daniel)
Tri-Village’s Liz Poling and Danville’s Addy Bocock dueled to nearly a draw in the noon sun. But Bocock’s team found a way to push across a run in the sixth inning and end the Patriots’ season.
Bellefontaine, OH – Strikeout after strikeout, frustration grew Saturday from the top to the bottom of Tri-Village’s lineup.
Danville pitcher Addy Bocock struck out the first 11 batters she faced. Her first 13 outs were strikeouts. But the Patriots didn’t sulk in the dugout or slam helmets to the ground.
EB Real Estate, Darke County’s sales leader, proudly sponsors the best area sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.
“It was a lot of talking,” said pitcher Liz Poling, who doesn’t bat. “We were trying to figure out what we could do to make it work. I’m cheering on the team as best as I can. I’m trying to pick them up when they get out. It’s just a mindset.”
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State football and basketball and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com. Follow on X @jw_gilbert
But no amount of right mindset for the defending Division VI state champion Patriots was enough to overcome Bocock’s overpowering stuff. She struck out 16, walked one and permitted three singles.
Poling’s mound work nearly matched Bocock. But Bocock’s team found the inches it needed to survive the pitchers’ duel. Those precious inches – on a bunt – beat Tri-Village 1-0 on an unearned run in the regional final at Blue Jacket Park.
If either team was going to score against Poling or Bocock, it would have to be manufactured. The Patriots (22-6) tried to do so in the late innings when they finally got some baserunners. But it was the Blue Devils (26-5) in the sixth inning that cracked the code.
Minster Bank proudly sponsors the best in area sports coverage on Press Pros Magazine.com.
Danville’s good fortune began with an error when speedy leadoff hitter Kaylee Martin reached first base. The umpire ruled Tri-Village first baseman Caley McCarroll pulled her foot off the base while stretching to receive a throw from shortstop Camryn Osborne.
Tri-Village coach Emily Osborne walked calmly to first base to seek an explanation. She obviously didn’t see the play the same way, but she heard the explanation and returned quietly to the dugout.
Liz Poling kept the Patriots in the game with nine strikeouts in her final high school game.
Next, Bocock helped herself with a soft single over first base to put Blue Devils on first and second with no outs. The next batter popped up behind the plate to catcher Hailey Burk.
Poling was ready for the next batter, cleanup hitter and freshman Morgan Hinkens. She had already struck her out twice. But Hinkens got the bunt sign. The pitch arrived and Hinkens pushed a perfectly placed bunt into the dusty desert of where the shortstop stands.
The bunted ball was too fast and too far from Poling and third baseman Emma Greer. Osborne left her shortstop position to cover third. The yellow softball, looking as big and as elusive as a beach ball, reached the edge of the outfield grass.
The third-base coach waved Martin home from second, and she scored without drawing a throw. Yes, Martin scored from second on a bunt. How else was anyone going to score in this game?
Logan Services, with locations in Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus, proudly sponsors your favorite area sports stories on Press Pros Magazine.com.
“It was a push bunt that was executed absolutely phenomenally, and this game is a matter of inches,” Emily Osborne said. “Something like that could have went an inch to the right or the left, and we would have had it. That’s the best part about softball – the game of inches.”
Camryn Osborne, the coach’s daughter, played her final game for the Patriots along with six other seniors.
With five freshmen in the lineup, Danville coach Charlie Duncan views his team as pitching and defense first. He expected a low-scoring, one-run game. Both coaches figured bunts, a popular strategy in softball, could be the difference. And the moment with Hinkens at bat demanded a bunt.
“She’d struggled with the first two at-bats, and that’s what we’re looking at, that’s what we want to do, put it right where we needed to do,” he said.
Poling pitched the Patriots to an undefeated season and state title last year. She wanted her senior year to end the same way. She did all she could, holding Danville to six singles and a walk while striking out nine.
“Liz, she went out there and she did her job … she did a really good job,” Osborne said. “I’m so proud of her.”
Poling and teammates Osborne, Burk, Tai Mize, Aereonna Baker, Addy Wright and Caley McCarroll graduate Sunday. They have a state title and other good seasons to remember. But the moment when it ends brings tears and long hugs.
Tri-Village catcher Hailey Burk and third baseman Emma Greer try to catch a Danville runner too far off third base after a strong throw home from left fielder Aereonna Baker in the sixth inning.
“That’s tough because it’s my senior season,” Poling said. “It’s my last time with the girls that I’ve played with since I was 9. We’ve just had a great atmosphere all year. It’s tough.”
Tri-Village got a runner to second base twice. Burk walked with two outs in the fourth and moved to second on a passed ball. But Bocock fired her 12th strikeout.
Greer reached first on an error with one out in the sixth. With two outs, she stole second. But Bocock got strikeout No. 15.
Mylee Bierly singled with two outs in the fifth and McCarroll singled with one out in the seventh. But neither advanced.
Bocock’s better-than-average fastball at the top of the strike zone and just above it created a lot of swings and misses. When she brought her pitches down, she tied up a lot of hitters on the inside corner for called strikes. Of her 16 strikeouts, six batters went down looking.
Ever-Green Lawn and Landscaping supports Ohio State sports on Press Pros.
“I don’t know if we just weren’t seeing it well, or weren’t adjusting to the strike zone, or what it was exactly,” Osborne said. “Coming into it the girls were confident. They were looking forward to seeing a pitcher with more speed. I’m not sure what exactly happened.”
The Patriots, still trying to process what they had seen, dutifully went through the handshake line and congratulated Danville. They accepted their runner-up trophy and medals. They posed for a team photo, and they smiled.
The anguish that comes with a tournament loss hit the Tri-Village players hard after a 1-0 loss.
“They’ve made every season memorable, just the teamwork and the sportsmanship and picking each other up and cheering each other on, and always being there for each other,” said Poling, who will next pitch at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa. “It was a great atmosphere. It felt like a family.”
After the ceremony, the team gathered at the dugout where Coach Osborne talked to this version of Tri-Village softball for the final time. She said goodbye to seven seniors, including her daughter. She emerged from the huddle, wiping away tears.
“I’m not sure that I’m prepared to talk about them yet, including my daughter,” she said. “The girls that have grown up together, and they put in the time, and they put in the work. They’re going to go off and do great things.”
Tri-Village played in its second straight final.
Athletes In Action is proud to be a presenting sponsor of area basketball on Press Pros Magazine.com. Call now for camp opportunities for your team in summer, 2026.