Aubrey Yekisa digs for home and a score during a 12-6 come-from-behind win over Olentangy. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Logan Gapen)
The top four hitters in Gahanna’s lineup combined for 11 hits and nine RBI as the Lions stormed into as regional final matchup against Hilliard Bradley, which coasted to a 10-0 win over Dublin Coffman in the matinee game.
Sunbury, OH – Never mind the fact that the Gahanna Lincoln softball team scores 8.9 runs per game and owns a team batting average of .415. Lions coach Matt Bailey believes his team generally is known more for its aggressive baserunning (204 stolen bases) and stellar defense.
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But Thursday’s Division I regional semifinal matchup against Olentangy was destined to be a different animal. Beforehand, some observers in the stands were joking that the combined over-under might hover somewhere around 16.
“I really thought we needed to put double digits on them to win this one,” Bailey said. “Olentangy’s the kind of team that can a lot of runs at any time. No lead is ever safe against them.”
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Braves coach Liz Yanez agreed.
“We knew it would be a hit-a-thon,” she said afterwards. “But it turned out that they just had a few more hitters than us today … not to mention more consistent pitching and defense. That’s a really well-rounded ballclub.”
After wiping out a big deficit, Gahanna rode the strength of a six-run fifth inning deluge to overwhelm Olentangy 12-6 in an entertaining matchup at Big Walnut.
Fourth-ranked in the final state coaches poll and fifth in MaxPreps’ power poll, the Lions (24-5) roared their way into an enticing regional title game matchup against second-ranked Hilliard Bradley (24-5) at 5 p.m. Friday. Gahanna will be seeking its sixth final-four bid and first since 2017. Bradley has never advanced past the regional final.
Ohio Capital Conference Cardinal Division champion Olentangy (22-7) came in averaging a whopping 10.3 runs per game with 15 double-figures performances.
“We knew all about the way Olentangy can hit,” sophomore infielder Bella Costa said. “I think they hit four home runs against us in our first meeting (a 6-5 Gahanna victory on April 25). We know a few of their girls from summer ball and several (four) of them are going Division I. Our pitchers took away a few lessons from the first game and we knew they would give us a good chance.”
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The Braves hit on their hitting shoes early, racing to a 5-1 lead in the third on behalf of six singles and two untimely Gahanna errors.
But Gahanna chipped away with two runs in the third and three more in the fourth.
Starting pitcher Abi Custodio comes back into the game after reliever Addi Hulshof couldn’t find the plate during the Lions’ decisive six-run outburst in the fifth inning.
It was 6-all headed to the bottom of the fifth when all hell broke loose for the Lions.
Braves reliever Addi Hulshof, a Maryland signee, walked the first three batters she faced. A wild pitch scored one run. Starter Abi Custodio returned, but things got only worse. Amira Evans, Kira Bailey, Costa and Aubrey Yekisa delivered successive RBI singles.
Olentangy got a slick inning-ending double play to avoid a run-rule defeat and temporarily stop the bleeding.
“We got some better swings on the ball and happened to get some momentum,” Matt Bailey said. “Our clutch hitting was fantastic today. Nobody tried to be a hero. We just kept getting hits and took what they gave us.”
The top four hitters in Gahanna’s lineup accounted for 11 of its 12 hits. Yekisa went 4-for-4 with three RBI, Evans 3-for-4 with a homer, double and two RBI and Costa 3-for-4 with three RBI.
Yekisa, who was whacked in the arm and mouth on a steal of third base and was woozy for several minutes, said her team excelled in all facets.
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“We’ve found ways to win all season,” she said. “Everyone throughout the lineup stepped up when they needed to. We’re super-excited to get one step closer to the final four, but we’re good about approaching things like every game.”
Matt Bailey was quick to point out that his bottom half of the lineup did little things to enable his big boppers to thrive. Also, reliever Ella Carlson played a huge role, helping the Lions out of a based-loaded, no-out jam in the third. The Braves got just one run and three hits the rest of the way.
Gahanna’s Caleigh Cannon safely slides back into third to avoid a pickoff attempt.
Olentangy was making its second regional semifinal appearance in a row.
Oddly enough, Bailey’s youngest daughter Kira – who is chasing the single-season state record for stolen bases (78) – was shut out Thursday thanks in part to continuous traffic in front of her. She remains stuck on 73 steals, two shy of the program record held by her older sister Kiernan, who just completed her junior season at the University of Dayton.
Hilliard Bradley 10, Dublin Coffman 0 (five innings)
Freshman shortstop Sammie Moody drove in four runs to support her junior sister Mickey Moody, who scattered four hits in a workmanlike pitching performance as Bradley romped into only its second regional title game.
The Moodys are daughters of a veteran Jaguars head Kevin and his wife/assistant coach Heather. Kevin is the second winningest coach in Ohio history, having served at the original Hilliard school, then Davidson, followed by Hilliard Darby and Bradley.
“Mickey really started to hit her stride as the game went along,” Kevin Moody said. “This is the third time we’ve seen Coffman this year and we know they can hit so we emphasized keeping the ball low and out of their hitting zone. Jumping on them early took some of the juice out of them and put our kids at ease.”
After a three-run second inning made it 4-0, the Jaguars padded their lead with a four-run fourth. Lucy Bennett delivered the key two-RBI single.
Sophia Lopez banged out three hits while both Moodys and Lainey Dennison collected two each.
“Something that I think sets this group apart from some of my other teams is they have a very high IQ,” Kevin Moody said. “Our kids are trained to take advantage of everything they see, even if it’s a small bobble. That’s kind of the personality of our team. We’re fearless on the bases.”
Bradley beat Coffman 14-13 on April 15 and 10-0 on April 27 in OCC Central play.
The youthful Shamrocks (17-12) were celebrating the school’s first district title since 1983 when the district had just one high school.
“Bradley runs the bases really well and we really didn’t have an answer for them,” Coffman coach Scott Tillman said. “We knew we had to play near perfect to beat this team and we didn’t.
“We have only one senior and my message to them after the game was that it’s not the end, it’s just the beginning for us. We hope to be here against next year.”
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