Season ends with 22 wins

By Cort Reynolds

FINDLAY – Gibsonburg broke open a tense scoreless duel with four runs in the top of the eighth inning, then held off a last-ditch rally by the Ada High School softball team to win their Div. VI regional final bout 4-0 in extra innings Friday evening, May 30, at Findlay High School.

The Golden Bears scored four runs in the top of the eighth inning behind a home run, two hits and two errors. The feisty Bulldog girls stayed alive by loading the bases with two out in the bottom of the eighth against tiring freshman hurler Alivia Wauford.

Ada had its best power hitter at the plate with a chance to extend or tie the game in slugging senior catcher Natilyn McClain. She fouled off multiple pitches and worked the count to 3-2 before flying out to right field to end the threat and the game. 

The Bulldog girls finished their historic campaign with a program-best record of 22-5 after the hard-fought defeat. 

Gibsonburg improved to 19-7 and advanced to play in the state semifinals June 6 at Akron Firestone Stadium. The Div. VI state final is scheduled for June 8 at 11 a.m.

“We didn’t hit like we normally do,” said fourth-year Bulldog head coach Jeff Bassitt. “Give credit to Gibsonburg, they kept us off balance.”

Ada senior ace Jenna Bassitt worked out of several jams before the Golden Bears finally broke the ice with a two-run homer in the eighth by freshman Ava Amor.

Ainsley Fleming led off the eighth by poking a single through the hole into left field. Bear catcher Cheyenne Reese drilled a liner that Alainee Buxton ran down nicely in the right-center field gap.

Amor, who had hammered a long foul ball down the left field line in her previous at bat, then came up. She smacked a two-run blast over the fence in left-center field to make it 2-0.

Gibsonburg then added on two big insurance runs. Leah Hall lined a single to left field. Bear hurler Alivia Wauford sliced a long fly down the right field line that went off the end of Buxton’s glove to put runners on second and third.

Emily Henderson then lofted a high fly to medium-depth right-center that Tess Griffith caught. After a slight collision with Buxton, she threw home a tad late as Hall beat the throw to the plate. 

With a stroke of bad luck, her toss bounced in and ricocheted off the bat lying near home to the backstop. McClain recovered it and threw home, but not before Wauford was able to slide in safely for a rare two-run sacrifice fly with the unlucky error.

Bassitt was able to retire Mia Brink on a liner to left fielder Dailah Preston for the last out, but severe damage had been done.

Spunky Ada sophomore Reese Jordan led off the bottom of the eighth by looping a single into shallow left field. Dailah Preston drew a walk, and Buxton worked the count to 3-2. She then took a pitch that caught the inside corner at the knees for a big first out.

Bassitt popped out to second. Emily Shanks was hit by a pitch to keep Ada alive and load the bases. McClain came up, a grand slam away from an improbable comeback tie. 

The tension mounted as she fouled off two balls with two strikes. But on a 3-2 pitch from Wauford, her fly ball to right was caught. 

Bassitt scattered seven hits over eight innings, and allowed two earned runs. She struck out five and walked two.  

”Jenna pitched a heck of a game,” said the coach. “She pitched out of some jams.”

She pitched around a leadoff single by Fleming in the first inning as Ada executed a double play. In the Bulldog half of the first, Bassitt flew out to right field, followed by a ground-out to third and a whiff.

Wauford made it six straight Bulldogs retired after two ground-outs and a foul-out to catcher Reese in the second.

Brink dribbled a grounder on the synthetic turf to Jordan at third base for the first out in the top of the third. Mackenzie Muntz flew out to Buxton in right. Emma Jividen lifted a fly ball to center that Griffith snagged.

Jordan lifted a high fly to shallow center that was caught to start the Ada third. Dailah Preston went down swinging on a high 3-2 fastball. Buxton then bounced a grounder up the middle, but the shortstop gloved it and threw her out by a step.

The Bears put together the first big threat of the game in the fourth frame. Fleming bunted and beat it out when Bassitt’s throw sailed low and wide.

Reese laid down a sacrifice bunt to move her to second. Amor lined a sharp single to left field, and the runners moved to second and third on the throw home as Fleming was held on the hard hit.

Bassitt walked Hall on a 3-1 pitch to fill the bases. She then retired her counterpart Wauford on a pop-out to the circle. Henderson lifted a pop-up along the first base line that Adira Preston went to her knees on as she tried to shield her eyes from the sun.

The ball dropped fair but spun right and went foul without anyone touching it for a strike as Ada dodged a bullet. Bassitt then got out of the serious threat with a called third strike to keep the game scoreless.

The Bulldogs went down in order in the bottom of the fourth. Wauford made it 12 batters in a row as Bassitt grounded to shortstop, Shanks flew out to center and McClain struck out.

In the top of the fifth, Brink popped out to Shanks leading off. Muntz grounded out to Shanks, but Jividen coaxed a walk after falling behind 0-2. But Fleming popped out to Shanks to end the frame.

Tess Griffith got the first Ada base hit leading off the home fifth when she pulled a looper that fell behind the shortstop. Karley Wagner laid down a sacrifice bunt and almost beat it out to advance Griffith to scoring position.

Aidra Preston hit a soft liner that the shortstop ran down. Jordan then popped one up behind third base that the shortstop raced over and made a great backhanded diving catch along the foul line to end the inning.

Reese, the top Bear hitter by batting average, led off the sixth with a soft liner that Wagner caught at second. Amor yanked a long ball foul down the line before drilling a double to the corner in left.

Bassitt struck out Hall on a high fastball. Wauford then grounded out to shortstop to strand Amor in scoring position.

In the bottom of the sixth, Dailah Preston led off by grounding out to third base. Summer Wibley pinch hit, but struck out looking. Bassitt walked and moved up to second on a passed ball.

Shanks drew a walk, and the runners moved up to second and third on a wild pitch. But McClain went down swinging on a 1-2 pitch to end the Ada threat.

In the top of the seventh, Henderson struck out looking on a 2-2 offering. Brink drilled a liner to left that went off the top of Preston’s glove for a two-base error.

Muntz dropped down a sacrifice bunt that Bassitt handled easily for the second out. Fleming’s liner to left was caught by a charging Preston to end the inning and keep it scoreless.

In the bottom of the seventh, Griffith popped out to first. Wagner and Aidra Preston went down on strikes to send the taut battle to extra innings.

With the top of the order coming up in the top of the eighth, the Bears finally broke through with four big runs to win it. 

The last two insurance runs Gibsonburg scored after the homer gave them some breathing room, which they ended up needing since Ada fought back in their last time up in the eighth.

McClain had smashed nine home runs this spring and needed a 10th to tie it with an unlikely grand slam in the final at bat, but came up a little short despite a valiant effort.

“Hats off to Gibsonburg, they won two straight extra-inning games at  regionals,” Bassitt noted.
Composed freshman Wauford hurled all 17 innings in the two tight Gibsonburg regional wins.

Griffith and Jordan singled for the lone Ada hits. Bassitt drew a walk and stole a base. Shanks walked and was hit by a pitch. Dailah Preston coaxed a walk. 

“It was a disappointing loss in that we were only one win from making state,” said Bassitt. “At the end of the day, we just didn’t get the bats going.”

It was the only time in 27 games the Bulldogs were shut out all season. 

The Ada girls were out-hit by the Golden Bears, 7-2. Freshman standout Amor led the Bear offense with a home run, double and single. She scored a run and drove in two.

Fleming stroked two singles and scored once. Hall singled and scored one run. Wauford tallied a run.

Wauford struck out eight, walked three and hit a batter. In eight innings, she gave up just two singles and no runs. 

Ada left six runners on base, while the Bears also stranded six.

Gibsonburg, starting four freshmen, has won nine of its last 10 games after starting the season 0-3. 

Ada committed three errors, while the Bears made no miscues. 

The five Bulldog seniors combined to post a 61-31 record over their four seasons, the most by any class in program history. Ada authored a sparkling 56-17 mark over the past three years. 

The super season marked the first time the Bulldogs have ever advanced to the regional finals. It was the last Ada game for seniors Bassitt, Wagner, McClain, Griffith and Aidra Preston. 

“What a season we had,” Bassitt summed up. “The seniors have set the bar high. They came up big all year. What a year.”

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