MIDDLE POINT — If one went by the records, Lincolnview’s girls fast-pitch softball team should have had its way on a pleasant Tuesday afternoon with a Jefferson squad with most of its lineup playing their first varsity tournament game.
It’s why they play the games.
The more seasoned Lady Lancers committed seven errors and the Lady Jeffcats (9-8) eliminated the hosts (18-7) 6-2 in the opening game of the Division IV sectional held in Lancerland.
The Red and Black got on top 3-0 in the first at-bat against Kela Fries (11-4; 7 IP, 9 hits, 6 unearned runs, 0 walks, 9 Ks; 111 pitches, 80 strikes). Megan Moreo (3-for-4) led it off with an infield hit off the pitcher’s glove. Brooke Apple (2-for-3, 2 runs) sacrificed; an error left both safe. Shauna Bowers bounced out to move them up. Jenna Miller popped up to the infield; when it was dropped, Moreo scored and Apple was on third. Miller stole second. Alexis Ricker bounced an RBI hit into right for a 2-0 lead.
“That was important for us to get on board early, especially for our younger girls. We haven’t had a lot of luck getting the early lead,” Jefferson coach Brad Rostorfer noted. “It gave us some confidence right away; when you have a pitcher like Shauna (7-6; 7 IP, 3 hits, 2 unearned runs, 0 base-on-balls, 9 Ks;  99 pitches, 72 strikes) on the mound, that gives you more confidence and helps take the nerves away.”
For Lancer coach Dave Evans, it was all about defense.
“It’s not just the place to start; it is the game. For some reason, we did not come out as focused as we should have,” he explained. “We made more errors today than in the past 5-6 games combined. We had been improving and then play like this. Maybe it was nerves but we didn’t compete defensively.”
The Lady ’Cats got two more in the third. Apple led off with a 2-bagger to the fence in center and Bowers moved her to third with a ground single to left. A 2-base throwing error on Miller’s grounder scored Apple, with Bowers ending up at third. An out later, Brittney Garza batted through an 11-pitch at-bat before bouncing out to second, scoring Bowers for a 4-0 lead.
“That at-bat was something I’ve been preaching for all my years of coaching. I want my hitters up their getting their swings at good pitches; an at-bat like that wears a pitcher out,” Rostorfer continued.
The Lancers got a run back in the home half. Lauren Evans led off with a bloop double down the right-field line. An out later, Taylor Fries bounced out to get her to third; the relay throw was off-line, allowing her to score for a 4-1 deficit.
Jefferson got that back in the fifth. With two outs, Ricker got a bad-hop infield hit to second, stole second and scored on an error on a grounder by Garza.
The Lancers replied with one of their own in the fifth. With two gone, T. Fries got aboard on a 2-base throwing miscue and scored on a shot down the left-field line by Taylor Smith to make it 5-2.
The ’Cats neutralized that in the sixth. Jessica Bland got aboard via an error. Two outs hence, Apple ripped a run-scoring double to deep center.
“Every time we’d get some momentum, we gave up another unearned run. Kela had to throw a lot of extra pitches because of our poor defense,” coach Evans added. “She’s usually around 80-90 pitches. She threw well; she got a lot of strikeouts and didn’t walk a batter. She gave our defense chances to field the ball.”
Bowers sent the Blue and Yellow down 1-2-3 in the sixth and seventh frames to finish it.
“We had a few errors , too (4) but not two in an inning. Then, we’d come back and make a good defensive play,” Rostorfer added. “We didn’t stew on it, which a young team can do. Shauna did a great job limiting the damage  as well.”
Jefferson next plays second seed Continental at 5 p.m. tonight (weather permitting).
Lincolnview has a makeup game at Columbus Grove Saturday to end its campaign.
In the nightcap, Ottoville ousted rival Kalida in a wild 9-7 victory.
“It’s a little bit too exciting for me. This game was all about taking advantage of opportunities,” Ottoville coach Joe Modica began. “We made the most of what they gave us. We put the ball in play and played some small-ball, especially when we got the lead.”
Kalida hurler Karrie Clementz (1-5) gave up all nine runs on six hits and six free passes but only one was earned (100 pitches, 57 strikes).
“We didn’t do the things defensively to help our cause. It wasn’t just fielding; it was throwing the ball around,” LadyCat coach Jeff Clement noted.
The Big Green (3-13) drew first blood in the bottom of the first. With one down, Adria Wannemacher ripped a double to left. Abbie Krouskop bunted her to third. Amy Hohlbein (4 runs) walked and stole a base. Both scored on two errors committed on a strikeout of Gina Beining for a 2-0 lead. Beining moved from second to third on Brooke Koester’s liner just beyond shortstop Megan Heitmeyer’s reach and scored on Misty Justice’s infield nibbler to third.
Kalida got one back in the second. Leah Gerding led off against Sami Modica (3-12; 7 IP, 8 hits, 7 runs, 4 earned, 3 walks, 6 Ks; 111 pitches, 71 strikes) with an infield hit up the middle. Kasie Bellman bunted her to second. A passed ball moved her to third. Michelle Jorrey walked and stole second. An out later, a wild pitch plated Gerding for a 3-1 hole.
The LadyCats got within 3-2 in the third. An error on a strikeout of Megan Heitmeyer got her on. An out later, a passed ball got her to second. An out later, she got to third on a wild pitch and scored on a booted grounder off the bat of B.J. Gerding (2-for-4, 2 RBIs).
The Lady Green exploded for four in the home half. Hohlbein led off with a free pass and stole a base. Beining got aboard via an error, putting runners on the corners. Koester sacrificed; a 3-base throwing error plated both runners. A wild pitch scored Koester for a 6-2 edge.
Justice beat out an infield hit to short. Brooke Moore’s sacrifice bunt got her all the way to third, from where she scored on a 2-out knock to center by Modica.
The LadyCats showed no quit, scoring once in the fourth. Bellman led off with a single to center. A Jorrey sacrifice got her to second. Dana Bruskotter walked. Both runners advanced on an Amanda Meyer groundout and Bellman touched home thanks to an infield hit to second by Heitmeyer.
The Lady Green didn’t let them off the hook in the home half, getting that tally back. Hohlbein blooped a hit to right, moved all the way to third on a sacrifice bunt by Beining and scored on an error committed on Koester’s grounder.
Kalida (2-12) got a trifecta in the fifth. Liz Foppe got a leadoff knock to center and moved up on a past ball. Abby Schroeder’s looper to right got her to third; an error on the play put the hitter at second. B.J. Gerding’s deep fly to center kept carrying and barely ticked off centerfielder Beining’s glove for a 2-run triple. An out later, she touched home courtesy of a bounceout by Bellman.
Ottoville got its final tally in the sixth. With one down, Hohlbein got a free pass. She stole second and went to third on a miscue on the play. Beining walked. Koester laid down a squeeze bunt to get Hohlbein in for a 9-6 spread.
“We hit the ball pretty well and obviously, Kalida made some mistakes,” added coach Modica. “One of the keys was that Sami did not walk many batters. We made a few errors but also made some nice plays, too.”
The Maroon and White tried a late rally in the seventh. With one gone, B.J. Gerding lined a hit up the middle. L. Gerding hit a ground ball; the throw to second was off, putting runners on the corners. Bellman’s bounceout to third scored B.J. Gerding. First baseman Hohlbein then juggled and finally caught Jorrey’s foul pop in the grass for the final out.
“We started this year with no pitchers with varsity experience from a year ago. Karrie has greatly improved from not throwing strikes consistently to throwing them; we just didn’t field for her today,” Clement added. “I was so proud of how we didn’t give up and how the girls stayed in the game emotionally. You’d have thought we were in the lead all day.”
These two teams will play again at 5 p.m. today in Ottoville in a regular-season outing. Ottoville takes on top seed Crestview 5 p.m. Thursday in tourney play.