Year of the Eagles: Eastwood reaches state semifinals for first time; Clay advances to regional final

Clay’s Brooke Gyori (with helmet) celebrates with teammates after scoring the winning run against Anthony Wayne in the Division I regional semifinal. The Eagles finished 26-4.

THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH
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Eastwood’s Morgan Corns scores ahead of the tag by Bloom-Carroll catcher Kipley Detwiler in the Division III state semifinals. The Eagles were 29-4.

Eastwood reached the state tournament in softball for the first time in school history.

The Eagles (29-4) captured a Division III regional title with an 11-6 win over Magnolia Sandy Valley. But Eastwood, ranked No. 6 in Ohio, fell 11-1 in five innings in the state semifinals to No. 1-ranked Bloom-Carroll, which went on to win the D-III state title.

Senior center fielder Ally Gabel earned All-Ohio second-team honors and was named player of the year in the Northern Buckeye Conference. Senior pitcher Whitney Foster (24-4) provided a steady presence for Eastwood in the circle.

All nine in the Eagles' batting order hit better than .300. Eastwood has put together a 53-8 record during the last two seasons.

“It's been a great experience,” coach Joe Wyant said. “We haven't experienced losing very often. They are very special to me.”

Clay (26-4), ranked No. 6 in the state poll, reached the Division I regional final for the first time since 2009. Clay dropped a 4-1 decision to Elyria (27-5).

Clay defeated Anthony Wayne 4-3 in the D-I regional semifinals. The Generals rallied to tie the game in the top of the seventh, but Clay won on senior Lindsay Schiavone's walk-off single.

Clay’s Brooke Gyori (with helmet) celebrates with teammates after scoring the winning run against Anthony Wayne in the Division I regional semifinal. The Eagles finished 26-4.

The Eagles also won the second Three Rivers Athletic Conference title with a 12-2 record.

The Eagles, who will graduate only four seniors, were led at the plate by junior center fielder Honnah Susor and on the mound by junior Brooke Gallaher.

Anthony Wayne freshman Kaitlyn Ray pitched a complete-game shutout to lead the Generals to a Division I district title with a 2-0 win over Bowling Green.

In Division II, Maumee (18-9) reached the district final. The Panthers lost 5-0 to Lima Bath.

In Division IV, Fremont St. Joseph (22-7) won a district title with a 4-1 win over Hopewell-Loudon.

Rogers won the first City League softball title in school history with a 13-9 victory over Start in the tournament final. The Rams (13-6) scored six runs in the second inning and three more in the sixth, but had to hold off several rallies from the Spartans (11-14).

A young Springfield team earned the highest ranking among area D-I teams, climbing to No. 5.

The Blue Devils (25-4) defended their title in the Northern Lakes League (13-1), Springfield’s third crown in five seasons. Pitcher Bre Buck and shortstop Hannah Girlie both were named All-Ohio first team.

Elmwood (22-7) won the second Northern Buckeye Conference with an 12-2 record.

Gibsonburg (20-7) won a second consecutive Toledo Area Athletic Conference title. The Golden Bears went 12-0 in league play to claim the crown outright after sharing it with Cardinal Stritch last year.

Archbold clinched its eighth straight Northwest Ohio Athletic League championship, but the Blue Streaks had to share the title this season with Evergreen. Both teams went 7-1 in league play.

Archbold (26-2) lost in the D-III district championship game to Fairview. Junior Cassidy Wyse was selected All-Ohio first team.