OHSAA First Round
Indian Lake 20, Northridge 0 (5 innings)
Indian Lake cruised into the district quarterfinals with a dominant 20-0 run-rule victory over Northridge, pairing a no-hitter with an explosive offensive performance.
The Lady Lakers used four pitchers in the combined no-hit effort. Bre Wisener struck out the side in a perfect first inning, while Mya Everhart worked around the biggest jam of the day in the third after issuing two walks and a hit batter to load the bases with one out before striking out the final two hitters.
Kyler Carruthers and Makayle Clary each added scoreless innings to finish off the shutout. In total, Indian Lake allowed just five baserunners on two walks, two hit batters, and one error while striking out 12 of the 20 outs recorded.
Offensively, the Lakers essentially ended the game in the opening inning with a 14-run outburst. Northridge pitching struggled badly with control, hitting eight batters and walking three, while Indian Lake made them pay with timely hitting.
MacKenzie Miller delivered the biggest blow of the inning with a bases-clearing triple to left field to make it 8-0. Bre Wisener, Brylee Buyer, and Ayla Brentlinger each added RBI hits, with Brentlinger capping the inning with a two-run single as the Lakers built a commanding lead.
Indian Lake added five more runs in the third after again loading the bases. Hannah Johnson ripped a bases-clearing triple to left with two outs, then Miller followed with an RBI double and Everhart added an RBI single to stretch the lead to 19-0.
Johnson later drove in the game’s final run with a two-out RBI single in the fourth.
Miller and Johnson each finished with two hits and four RBIs to lead the offense, while Brentlinger drove in three runs. Buyer also collected a two-hit day as Indian Lake totaled 11 hits, six walks, and eight hit batters.
Indian Lake improves to 9-15 and advances to the district quarterfinals, where the Lady Lakers will face Benjamin Logan on Thursday.
Oakwood 7, Graham 6
Graham’s season came to a heartbreaking end as the Lady Falcons surrendered a late four-run lead and were walked off by Oakwood, 7-6.
The Lumberjacks grabbed the early advantage in the first inning after opening with a single and double, then using a sacrifice fly and RBI groundout to go up 2-0.
Graham was held quiet until the fourth, when Malynn Bacher singled and Sophia Fraley doubled to put two runners in scoring position. Abby Chamberlain brought home the Falcons’ first run on a sacrifice bunt to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Pitcher Lexi Baker settled in nicely after the opening inning, allowing just one baserunner across the second and third innings. She also escaped traffic in the fourth with a double play and groundout to keep Graham within striking distance.
The Falcons finally broke through in a huge sixth inning.
Fraley doubled again, Chamberlain singled, and Charli Werner reached on an error to load the bases. Brinlee Middleton tied the game with an RBI single, then Graham took the lead on a fielder’s choice from Lilly Swank.
A sacrifice fly from Elizabeth Friis, an RBI infield single from Mariah Sizemore, and another Oakwood error that scored Malynn Bacher helped cap a five-run frame, giving Graham a 6-2 lead.
Oakwood answered immediately in the bottom half, capitalizing on more defensive miscues. A pair of errors allowed two runs to score, trimming the lead to 6-4 entering the seventh.
Graham had a chance for insurance in the top of the seventh but stranded two runners.
In the bottom half, Oakwood got a leadoff runner aboard on an error, and after another defensive mistake allowed a run to score, the Lumberjacks had runners at the corners with one out.
After a flyout for the second out, Oakwood’s final batter delivered a two-RBI single to right field on a 2-2 count to complete the walk-off comeback.
Both teams struggled defensively, combining for 16 errors in the contest.
Despite the loss, Baker tossed a complete game for Graham, allowing just two earned runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out four.
Offensively, Baker, Fraley, and Middleton each recorded multi-hit games, while Sizemore, Chamberlain, Middleton, and Swank each drove in a run.
Graham finishes its season at 5-18, while Oakwood advances to face Urbana in the district quarterfinals on Thursday.
