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Brooklyn Osterloh allowed just three hits in taking a tough 1-0 loss to Tri-Village.
BELLEFONTAINE - Minster, ranked fifth in the final state Division VI softball poll, had defeated the state's third, fourth, and eighth-ranked teams through the postseason. Second-ranked and unbeaten Tri-Village remained the only obstacle for the Wildcats trying to make a second state berth.
The teams traded zeros for 6 ½ innings before Kash Mead's squeeze bunt scored Emma Cantrell for the lone run of the game as the Patriots avenged last year's regional final loss to Minster 1-0 on Saturday in Bellefontaine.
Tri-Village got the bottom of the seventh started with a single by Kaley Brandon, with Cantrall coming on to run. A sacrifice bunt by Hailey Burk moved Cantrell to second. Minster then intentionally walked Camryn Osborn and Aereonna Baker to setting up a force at all bases. Mead then executed a perfect squeeze to score Cantrell.
Minster's Ansley Wolf waits on the throw to as Tri-Village's Kash Mead runs towards first base during Saturday's Division VI regional softball final in Bellefontaine.
"It was a great game, but when it comes down to it, we didn't take advantage of the opportunities we were given," said Minster coach Kenleigh Ludlow. "I am proud of our seniors and the impact they had this season on our team culture. They brought the younger girls up all year long and they all fit in and worked well together. These girls will know they are forever a part of our softball family and will always know the huge impact they made."
The Wildcats had numerous chances to score, loading the bases in the top of the first inning, but failed to score any runs while shutting the Patriots down in order in the bottom of the inning. The same suit followed in the next two innings as the Orange and Black continued to get runners on to no avail and the Patriots didn't notch their first base hit off starting pitcher Brooklyn Osterloh until the bottom of the third, a single which amounted to nothing on the scoreboard.
The Wildcats opened the fourth inning with singles from sophomores Ansley Wolf and Alayna Bergman, but three straight fly outs to right field quietly ended what looked to be a promising inning. Osterloh struck out two in the bottom of the fourth, and a third strikeout was nullified when Tri-Village's Hailey Burke was called out for leaving base early, keeping the score knotted at zero with four innings complete.
The fifth inning began hopeful once again for Minster, when All-Ohioan Addi Inskeep led off with a double, followed by Lauren Tyler being hit by a pitch and Osterloh dropping a bloop single into left center field. With the bases juiced and no outs, the Wildcats were unable to produce though, finishing five at-bats with 11 runners left on base.
After sitting the Patriots down 1-2-3 in both the bottom of the fifth and sixth, the score still reflected goose eggs pushing things into the final frame. With one out, Tyler and Osterloh each singled, and Caroline Knapke reached on a fielder's choice in which Tyler was thrown out at home plate. Ansley Wolf drew a walk to load the bases, but the inning soon ended with no runs to show for it.
Tri-Village catcher Hailey Burk applies the tag to Minster's Lauren Tyler during Saturday's Division VI regional softball final in Bellefontaine.
On the day, the Wildcats collected eight base hits, including two each from Osterloh and Inskeep. Osterloh was stellar on the mound in her final appearance in a Wildcat uniform, striking out eight and allowing just three hits, two of which didn't come until the last inning. Minster, though, left 14 runners on base and three times the bases loaded, which ultimately sealed their fate and concluded their season with an outstanding 26-6 overall record.
"Our girls worked very hard all season," Ludlow concluded. "They put their heart and soul into everything they do year round and they have for years, despite the outcome I am very proud of all of them regardless of what the scoreboard says."
