NEW MADISON—The Ansonia Softball team has knocked on the door for a district championship three out of the last four years with no answer. This year, they broke the door down, taking a 6-2 win over the Russia Raiders and earning the 2025 OHSAA DVII Southwest District Title.
This makes the third District Championship for the Tigers with the last one coming in 2009 where they would go on to a final four appearance. They also won the title in 2008 as well.
Ansonia advances to play in the regional semifinal, where they will take on Covington.
The Buccaneers and Tigers played back on March 27th with Covington pulling out a 7-5 win … but Ansonia will get a second opportunity come Wednesday 5/28/25 with a 5pm game time at Northmont High School.
Ansonia had the bats out in this one, collecting 13 hits and got on the scoreboard first, scoring with Lydia Klingshirn scoring on a bases-loaded infield fly rule due to a mishandled play for the 1-0 lead.
The Tigers added two more runs at the top of the third inning as Shyann McKenna led off with a single. She advanced to second on a sacrifice from Jayda Mangen.
Ava Thatcher then plated McKenna with a double to center field to go up 2-0. Addison Geyer would rap a single with runners now on 1st and 3rd.
Miley Walls would pick-up an RBI with a ground ball to shortstop and the Tigers would lead 3-0.
Russia would get a run back in the bottom half of the 3rd inning. Ansonia would take that run back in the top half of the 5th inning.
With two outs Geyer smashed one to center field for a double. (Geyer would go 3-for-4 in the game). Miley Walls (Walls 2-for-4, 2 RBIs) not to be outdone followed with a double of her own to get Geyer home to go up 4-1.
The Tigers added two more insurance runs at the top of the 6th inning with Avalyn Locke (2-for-3,1 run), led off with a bunt single. Locke would eventually steel 2nd and 3rd base before scoring.
With two outs Mckenna (2-for-4, 2 runs, 1 RBI) came up big with a second double scoring Locke.
Mangen followed up with a single moving McKenna to third. McKenna then scored on a Thatcher (2-for-4, 2 RBIs, 1 run) hit the ball up the middle for an RBI to put the Tigers up 6-0.
The Raiders added a run in the bottom half the 6th inning … but pitcher Bre’Anna Walker was solid in the circle going six innings for the Tigers giving up 6 hits, with 3 strikeouts and 2 earned runs.
Still leading 6-2 with Russia having one last at bat in the bottom of the 7th inning, Miley Walls would come on in relief of Walker.
Walker got off to a rough start hitting the first batter … but was able to take on the heart of the batting order coaxing two pop-ups and one strikeout to get the save and the Tigers would win the game 6-2.
Ansonia coach David Fisherback was happy for his team being able to get back to the district finals in his second year as coach and this time get the win.
“It was one of our goals this year to get back to this game and win it and get this team to the regionals,” Fisherback stated.
It all starts with preparation and doing the work along with beefing up the schedule something coach Fisherback did.
“I’ve been telling our girls all year long. First schedule a couple of other tough teams so we picked up Miami East game, went over there and got beat two, zero. We were one hit away from maybe winning that game. We played Minster and we got beat four to three and obviously, we played tri village a very well talented team and went up to Greenville and played respectable,” Fisherback explained.
Each of the teams coach Fisherback names also won District Championships and advanced to regional play.
Fisherback is pleased with the way his team is seeing and hitting the ball, their defense and pitching all being very solid.
“We knew Russia is a very well coached team, but we really have been working on hitting, on making contact put the ball in play and become the tough out. And that was evident tonight, we put the ball in play, and they had a couple errors. But when you put the ball in play, good things happen,” Fisherback exclaimed.
“We are very happy with how the girls are progressing on the hitting side of things. I went back and looked at some of the stats, back in 2021 as a team, they had two home runs, in 2022 maybe two, then three, then four, but this year, we’ve got 19 home runs. That’s a big difference when you have young ladies putting the bat on the ball,” Fisherback commented.
The middle of my lineup is hitting, well, Ava Thatcher in the three spot for a reason, is probably the hardest working kid at pure hitting and she came up with some big hits tonight. Shyann McKenna was two for four on the day, two hard hits, including the RBI double. We don’t play a lot of small ball, but now it’s tournament time and Mangen sacrificed to start things off in the third then Thatcher’s solid hit to the left center field brought in McKenna. Addison Geyer in clean-up hit a few good balls as well,” Fisherback said.
But the pitching and defense all did their job as well.
We only committed one error today, and that was in the later in the game we have been = focusing on our defense up the middle coverage, and right now, with McKenna at second base and helping Lilly Perry a shortstop, they cover all that open ground. Our outfielders are stepping up making all the routine plays. And that’s what it takes you have to make all the routine plays,” Fisherback concluded.
