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Parkway third baseman Emmery Temple dives to apply a tag to Hopewell-Loudon's Sidney Brickner, who tries to get back after a first-inning triple. Temple got the out to end the first.
AKRON - For two weeks, Meg Henkle carried the Parkway softball team with her ability to strand baserunners and escape jams, but in the Division IV state semifinals on Friday, her luck ran out.
The Panthers surrendered seven runs in the first two innings and couldn't answer as Hopewell-Loudon built a commanding lead, sending Parkway to a 9-1 loss at Firestone Stadium in Akron.
"We had a great season, great run," Parkway coach Trey Stover said. "Ran into a great pitcher today, and a really, really good hitting team. They hit a lot of gaps and scored some big runs early, kind of put us in a hole."
A spate of wildness cost Henkle in the first inning, as she walked leadoff hitter Kylee Malagon and hit Shea Harper before Sidney Brickner lined a two-out, two-run triple into left-center. The Panthers escaped further damage when Brickner rounded third and seemed to think about going home, and third baseman Emmery Temple made a diving tag as Brickner tried to get back to the base.
Ashley Daniel got Hopewell-Loudon (31-0) going again in the second with a leadoff single, and after a bunt moved Daniel to second, Henkle walked the next two batters before Taryn Hampton hit a rocket line drive just fair down the third-base line to double the lead.
Malagon hit a grounder past Temple, playing in, that went for a two-run single, and that was the end of Henkle's day.
"I just think she didn't have command of her curveball and her screwball, which has kind of been carrying her the last few weeks," Stover said. "It's really hard to work behind and throw quality pitches when you're behind in the count. They were kind of just teeing off with a 3-0, 3-1 count. Really good hitting team."
Parkway reliever Bryn Schoenleben delivers in the second inning against Hopewell-Loudon in the Division IV state semifinals at Firestone Stadium in Akron on Friday.
In came freshman Bryn Schoenleben, who gave up a single before getting the last two outs.
Parkway had chances to dent the scoreboard early, starting when Brittyn Bruns and Madison Louth led off with back-to-back singles in the first inning. Chieftains pitcher Isabelle Beidelschies then struck out Henkle and got two flyouts to end the threat.
Maddie Jacobs, Temple and Bruns all worked long at-bats for walks in the second, loading the bases with two outs and forcing Beidelschies to throw 35 pitches before Louth swung late at an outside pitch for strike three to end the inning.
"We've seen that a few times, where this team uses their experience," Hopewell-Loudon coach Tony Malagon said. "They don't bat two eyes, they just stay poised and look to try to keep them right where they were."
Paige Stephenson hit a drive to right-center for a one-out triple in the third, but Beidelschies got a strikeout and a groundout to keep the Panthers scoreless.
"I think we were ready for her," Stover said. "We put the ball in play pretty good today, just a couple times there early on in the game, we had some girls in scoring position and we didn't come through with the hit. That's something we had been doing here the last few weeks."
Schoenleben allowed two runs over the next four innings but kept Hopewell-Loudon in check. Henkle turned a double play in the fourth, snaring a low line drive by Harper and doubling Malagon off first, and Schoenleben stranded three runners, including Brickner on third in the fourth after another triple and Beidelschies on second in the sixth after her double put the Chieftains on the doorstep of a run-rule win.
"She's been that girl who's had to be on call at any point in the game all year long," Stover said. "There's nights where she's ready to go and we don't need her, and there's nights where we need her to step up early like we did tonight. She kept us in the game and gave us some opportunities there in the middle innings. Really proud of her. She mixed it up well, threw that rise ball and was hitting her spots, and she really settled in and pitched a great game for us."
Parkway finally got on the board in the top of the seventh, after Temple worked another walk and Bruns reached on a failed fielder's choice. Beidelschies got a pop-up and a flyout, but Stephenson hit a grounder through the right side to score Temple.
Adria Miller fouled two two-strike pitches before lofting a fly ball to left for the final out.
Parkway second baseman Adria Miller makes a leaping catch going back into centerfield in the first inning.
"Super proud," Stover said. "That team played 30 games before today, and (24) of them were run-rules. There were a couple times there that it was close. That just shows our heart and our grit and what this team is. They never gave up and they battled 'til the very last out."
"I'd like to tip my hat to Parkway," Coach Malagon said. "They stuck around and really fought. They could've gave up when it was 7-0, we were kind of close to closing things out, and they kept fighting."
Hopewell-Loudon will face defending state champion Strasburg-Franklin in the state title game today after the Tigers beat Gibsonburg 3-1 in the late game.
Parkway ends its season at 21-6, with 14 of the 15 players on the roster set to return next year.
"Every year's going to be different, every team's going to have a different makeup," Stover said. "I just hope they learn, don't take any game or any day for granted. You never know if you'll get back here.
"It's been 10 years since Parkway's been back to the state tournament, we've been there four years in our program history, and we've had a very, very successful program. To only get to state four years in 30-something years of softball, it's special. It's special, and I want the girls to know that."
