MIAMISBURG — To beat this Indian Lake softball team, you have to fight them until the final out.
New Richmond was the latest opponent to realize that here Saturday afternoon.
The Lakers saw an early four-run lead turn into a one-run deficit going into the seventh inning of a Division II district final.
But down to their final three outs, the Lakers mounted a stirring rally. They sent eight batters to the plate in the top of the seventh, scoring four runs to take an 8-5 lead they would not relinquish.
After going all the way to the Division III state championship game last year, the Lakers have a Division II district title under their belts this postseason.
Indian Lake (24-2) will take on Granville (27-3) in a regional semifinal game at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Wright State University.
“It’s like I just told the girls in our postgame talk. That was the truest definition of team play you are going to see there in the top of the seventh inning,” said Indian Lake head coach John Stahl. “Everyone did what they had to do to pull out a win. You can never doubt this team. It’s always a different player that steps up when we need it.”
The first half of Saturday’s game was much different than the final half.
The Lakers jumped out to a 4-0 lead after three innings and the Lions did not even have a hit through the first four frames.
But New Richmond (22-4) came battling back in the bottom of the fifth.
The Lions used three hits, an error and a walk to plate three runs and close within a run at 4-3.
After Indian Lake was retired in order during the top of the sixth, New Richmond scored twice more in the bottom half of the sixth to go ahead 5-4.
However, the Lakers did a good job of limiting the damage. With two runs already in, New Richmond had a runner on third base with just one out.
The next Lions batter laid down a bunt. The ball was fielded and thrown to first baseman Kayleigh Zedlitz for the second out and Zedlitz then fired home to get the base runner attempting to score for the final out of the inning.
“I think that play was huge for momentum,” said Stahl. “We were able to get out of the inning with that double play and that gave us a spark going into the seventh.”
Indian Lake was set up perfectly for a rally in the top of the seventh as the top of the order came to the plate.
Leadoff batter Haylee Edwards, who is hitting over .550 on the season, led off the inning with an infield single.
“Haylee is probably the best leadoff hitter in the state,” said Stahl. “She has the speed to turn ground balls in the infield into hits. It’s a huge plus to get your leadoff hitter on base in a situation like that.”
After a fielder’s choice ground ball moved Edwards to second base, Madison Brentlinger singled to right field to push Edwards to third.
The Lions then elected to intentionally walk Halle Roby, loading the bases for Porscha Davis with one out.
Davis fell behind in the count, but then connected on a deep fly ball that got over the head of the New Richmond left fielder. All three runners scored on a double for Davis that gave Indian Lake a 7-5 lead.
Zedlitz followed with another double, increasing the Lakers’ lead to three at 8-5.
Brentlinger made sure the Lions didn’t have another rally in store as she pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh inning to send the Lakers into the regionals for the second straight season.
Edwards went 3-4 and Halle Roby, Davis and Zedlitz each had two hits to fuel an Indian Lake offense that pounded out 12 hits on the day.
The Lakers, who are ranked ninth in the final Division II state coaches poll, will now be challenged by a Granville squad that is ranked second in the state.
“We have to play better than we did today,” said Stahl. “We had some mental mistakes and we had a bad inning. We can’t afford to do that against a great team like Granville.”
INDIANLAKE 8, NEW RICHMOND 5
Lakers 103 000 4 — 8 12 2
Lions 000 032 0 — 5 6 2
WP—Brentlinger; LP—Willis.
Indian Lake’s softball team celebrates with its Division II district championship trophy after Saturday’s 8-5 win over New Richmond at Miamisburg High School (Examiner photos | Matt Hammond)
