BELLFONTAINE – The Tri-Village softball team is headed back to the regional final for the third straight year, grinding out a 4-2 win over Fayetteville Perry and knocking the Rockets out of the tournament for the second year in a row.
The Patriots’ offense, typically explosive, managed just four hits on the day, but they did enough to offset Fayetteville Perry’s six hits, capitalizing on miscues and doing the little things that win postseason games.
Tri-Village struck first in the opening frame. Emma Greer led off with a base hit, and with two outs, Aereonna Baker worked a walk. Baker was awarded second on defensive indifference, putting runners at second and third.
Caley McCarroll then delivered one of the game’s pivotal at-bats. After fouling off multiple pitches and running the count full, she kept battling, fouling off four more before lifting a high pop-up between the pitcher and first. Miscommunication left the ball untouched, allowing both Greer and Baker to score and give the Patriots an early 2-0 lead.
Tri-Village added to that advantage in the third. With one out, Kash Mead drew a walk and advanced to second on a passed ball. Hailey Burk drove a ball to center that was caught, but Mead tagged and narrowly beat the throw to third, putting a runner 60 feet from home with two outs. Baker then ripped a shot down the third-base line for a double, scoring Mead and extending the lead to 3-0.
Fayetteville Perry finally broke through in the fifth. With two outs, Autumn Waddell singled, and the next batter dropped a soft blooper into center. An overthrow to third trying to cut down Waddell allowed her to score the Rockets’ first run.
They made it 3-2 moments later. A pickoff attempt by catcher Hailey Burk down to third was mishandled by Greer, and Lilly Carlier immediately broke for the plate, scoring on the error. Tri-Village escaped further damage on a fly ball to center fielder Mylee Bierly, but the Rockets had seized momentum.
“After giving up those two runs we huddled up the girls knowing we’ve got to shift the momentum now,” coach Osborne said. “I could kind of sense some were coming into the dugout pouting after some bad at-bats and a bad inning in the field. So, we called out everybody: when you’re in the dugout make sure you’re up and cheering, go out and just do your job in the position you’re in. It’s a game of inches, you’ve got to have a short memory.”
The message landed.
In the bottom of the fifth, Kaley Brandon led off with a base hit to center. Greer followed with her second hit of the day, putting two on with nobody out. Mead then dropped a near-perfect sacrifice bunt, moving both runners into scoring position. Brandon soon scored on a passed ball, with Greer advancing to third. The Patriots couldn’t push across another run, but that insurance marker restored control and flipped the momentum back their way, making it 4-2.
“Kaley Brandon’s hit was much needed at a critical time. Greer’s hit and the bunt from Mead were just enough to help us take back some of those inches needed to manufacture a run and gain back some momentum,” Osborne said.
With Tri-Village clinging to a 4-2 lead heading into the top of the sixth, assistant coach Shane Mead simplified the task for starting pitcher Elizabeth Poling.
“Shane told me we’re at the end of the lineup, and he made it very clear we had to shut them down,” Poling said. “I talked to Ray (catcher Hailey Burk), and she gave me some confidence, told me I know what I’m doing, just go do it.”
Poling responded with her most dominant stretch of the day, dialing up the fastball and striking out the side in order.
“I just went out and did my job and that definitely felt good, striking out the side. I know they were counting on me,” Poling said.
Tri-Village went scoreless in its half of the sixth, then came out three outs away from another trip to the regional final.
Poling finished what she started in the seventh, inducing a flyout to Bierly in center, a groundout to Greer at third and a pop-up to shortstop Cam Osborne, who squeezed it to secure the 4-2 victory.
It wasn’t the typical offensive outburst from a Patriots team that averages 12.5 runs and 11 hits per game, but Tri-Village again found a way—manufacturing runs, making timely defensive plays and leaning on Poling in the circle, a formula that has carried them for three seasons.
“I felt like our girls stepped up in the moments we needed them to with that first hit… or error that scored two runs,” coach Osborne said. “Sometimes that’s what we need in a kind of win-ugly situation. It wasn’t maybe our best game overall at the plate today. We were a little bit anxious trying to jump on things, but we got some good plays from our defense.”
Poling echoed that sentiment, emphasizing how much she trusts the group behind her.
“Mylee had that super nice catch where she laid out in the second inning to thwart a scoring opportunity, she does a great job moving to the ball,” Poling said. “The defense is what saves my game. I’m not always going to throw strikeouts. Our defense in the infield is on it as well, we stay down on the ball, and we’re good. I really count on them. If we mess up, we’re able to talk through errors and pick each other up. We’ll get the next play.”
That blend of resilient pitching, opportunistic offense and connected defense has powered Tri-Village (22–5) to a third consecutive regional final, and they’ll lean on that same blueprint Saturday at Blue Jacket Stadium in Bellefontaine. The Patriots will face Danville (22–5), a 12–2 winner over Ada, with a noon first pitch and another chance to extend a three-year run built on doing all the little things right when it matters most.
