Miami East felt the emotions that come when a season ends in a loss as it does for every team except for one. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Julie Wright-Daniel)
The Vikings enjoyed their first trip to the state tournament since the first one in 1978, but they wish it could have lasted one more day.
Akron, OH – Only the final score made the Miami East softball team cry. The rest of their experience at historic Firestone Stadium meant everything to them.
Still, when the reality of a season ending jolted their emotions, they wished for one more day together as a team. They wanted a chance to do what the 1978 team did when it won the Class A title in the first OHSAA state tournament.
Dave Arbogast is a proud sponsor of area high school sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.
But being on this stage for the second time since the Carter administration, and it coming against defending champion Wheelersburg – one of the state’s powerhouses since 2015 – meant the Vikings had to play a clean game and take advantage of every scoring opportunity.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State football and basketball and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com. Follow on X @jw_gilbert
Brian Kadel’s team had its good moments, but Wheelersburg had more, erasing an early two-run deficit for a 10-5 victory in the first Division V semifinal at historic Firestone Stadium.
Catcher Jaycee Roeth, one of five seniors, considered not playing this season to prepare more for her college volleyball career at Mount Union.
“This is all I could have hoped for – I didn’t want the season to end,” she said. “Now I can say that I don’t have any regrets leaving here. We made it to state. What else could you ask for out of the season?”
The Vikings finished 25-6 and won their third straight outright Three Rivers Conference title. But reaching this stage, while a goal for a lot of teams, didn’t seem realistic as the season began.
“No offense, but I just really didn’t think we’d come all the way,” junior shortstop Jaila Thurman said. “And we did.”
Wilson Health/Orthopedics proudly sponsors the best in area sports and the Ohio State Buckeyes on Press Pros.
Kadel’s program is strong, he brought the Vikings to Akron in 2022, and he schedules difficult nonleague games to prepare his team for the tournament. His record in 15 seasons is 271-121. He’s seen a lot. But what he witnessed this season was a team fighting through adversity, a little friction, and keeping a proper focus. They became more than what people around the program thought possible.
“We had talent,” he said. “But super proud of every single one of them, just stepping their game up as the season went on, and focusing and coming together just to make something magical happen, because it was pretty special what they did.”
The Goodyear blimp passed over Firestone Stadium during Miami East’s state semifinal.
Up until the final out, early Saturday morning in Akron felt special to the Vikings. They got to play in the college-like atmosphere of Firestone. The Goodyear blimp, synonymous with major sporting events, passed overhead, and the players noticed. And the first two innings belonged to them.
With one out and runners at first and second in the first inning, Jaylen Carter bunted for a single. Wheelersburg pitcher Emmee Eaton threw late to first, but her throw sailed into the right-field corner to send Jorgia Roeth and Thurman home with the game’s first runs.
Jaila Thurman hits a leadoff double in the third inning and later scored the tying run.
Kylie Gentis, the Vikings’ senior pitcher, retired the first six Pirates on five ground balls and a popup.
“We came out doing exactly what we wanted to do, playing solid defense,” Kadel said.
Gentis isn’t a hard thrower or a strikeout artist. She keeps the ball down and relies on keeping hitters off balance and the defense behind her.
The Pirates, in their regional final, faced hard-throwing Ohio State signee Brennan Reichman of Tuscarawas Valley. The Pirates had to score a run in the seventh to force extra innings before rallying with three runs in the bottom of the ninth to win 7-6.
“Took us a little while to adjust to the pitching at the beginning of the game, and also I think to manage our emotions,” said four-time state champion coach Teresa Ruby. “We were just a little too eager. We finally started to settle down and square the ball up.”
The Pirates took a 3-2 lead in the third with the help of two Miami East throwing errors and RBI singles by Ava Estep and Mylee Jo Gleim. But the Vikings tied the score in the bottom of the inning when Thurman doubled and scored on Caitlin Howell’s groundout.
Minster Bank proudly sponsors the best in area sports coverage on Press Pros Magazine.com.
The fourth inning, however, created the turning point.
The Pirates loaded the bases with two singles sandwiched around a force out and a walk. Estep, the Pirates’ speedy leadoff hitter, and future Maryland Terrapin, sliced a line drive into right field.
Jorgia Roeth scores Miami East’s first run, soon to be followed by Jaila Thurman, on a throwing error in the first inning.
East’s Jersey Cutlip made a diving attempt but barely missed. The ball bounced under her glove and to the fence. And Estep didn’t break stride, almost running down a teammate, for an inside-the-park grand slam and a 7-3 lead.
“We knew they could hit, and we just lost our footing for a couple innings and couldn’t get it back quick enough,” Kadel said. “But they continued to fight like we have all year, trying to give ourselves an opportunity to get back in it.”
In a game that turned out to be high-scoring, the Vikings needed two or three more big hits to keep pace. But they left a runner at third with one out in the first inning, runners at second and third with two outs in the second and the bases loaded with two outs in the fourth.
“It was either going to be super low scoring, because it’s a clean game, or we’re going to have to slug it out with them,” Kadel said. “I felt pretty good about being able to hit the ball. We were just one or two hits in some situations from trying to keep pace, but it’s hard to do.”
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.
The Pirates collected 13 hits and had several hard-hit outs against Gentis and freshman Caitlin Howell, who allowed the final three runs over 3 1/3 innings.
“They’re just a hitting team,” Jaycee Roeth said. “It didn’t really matter where we put the ball. We knew we were going to have to make plays.”
The Vikings didn’t quit hitting despite the deflating nature of the grand slam and allowing seven runs in a two-inning span. In the fourth, Jorgia Roeth singled in a run to make the score 7-4 with plenty of at-bats left for the Vikings. But the Pirates scored two more times in the sixth on a Gleim single and once more in the seventh on Lauren Truitt’s double.
Wheelersburg’s Mati Jennings steals second base in the third inning. The Pirates stole nine bases and Jennings stole three times.
Ruby stuck with Eaton until Cutlip hit a leadoff double in the sixth. She had allowed eight hits and five runs, though only two were earned. Eaton pitched 25 innings last season.
“She’s taken about 10 years off of my life, and I say that in jest because I can say that with her,” Ruby said. “The improvement she has made from last year to this year is pretty amazing, but sometimes she will lose focus. I honestly have to go out there and not be very nice to her, and it brings her back. She’s got that extra gear in her, and she has to be pushed for that gear.”
Ruby finished with freshman Rylan Butcher. Cutlip, the inherited runner after her double, scored on successive groundouts, but Butcher retired all six batters she faced and struck out the final four.
The final outs, even with a five-run deficit, hit the Vikings hard.
“There we’re a lot of tears,” Kadel said. “They don’t want to leave each other, even girls that are on the bench just cheering. They were in tears because they love each other so much and were hoping for the best for everyone. It was hard to have it end.”
Precision Strip, in Minster, Ohio, is proud to be the presenting sponsor of the OHSAA state finals on Press Pros Magazine.com.