Which central Ohio softball teams won OHSAA Division II, III and IV district titles?
No sooner were the celebratory pictures taken after Saturday’s Division III softball district final at Pickerington Central than West Jefferson coach Jim Stevens pointed to the scoreboard.
Perhaps appropriately, the 10th-seeded Roughriders needed just that many runs to outlast No. 11 Utica 10-8, continuing a season observers might not have seen coming after the graduation of All-American pitcher Brooke Mannon, who now plays for Arizona.
Stevens’ message was the same as every other year — that his team has four games to go, two in the regional tournament and two at state.
“This group just does not quit,” Stevens said. “It’s been an up-and-down, up-and-down season … and Utica put a scare in us. We might get behind but these girls have that fire, that drive, and they never give up.”
Freshman pitcher Jenna Mannon’s three hits, including a first-inning home run, and eight strikeouts in the circle complemented a 15-hit onslaught from the Roughriders. Five players had two hits apiece, and Kasie Simmons’ two-run homer in a five-run sixth provided the winning and insurance runs.
West Jefferson (12-11) is hot at the right time, winning six consecutive games after a five-game losing streak in late April to reach a regional semifinal Wednesday at Findlay against Coldwater.
Mannon’s two-run double in the fourth and RBI singles from Payton Curry and Kimberly Warnock staked West Jefferson to a 5-1 lead, but Utica (11-11) stormed back with four runs in the fifth and three in the sixth to go ahead 8-5.
Kaitlin Evans hit a three-run homer in the fifth for Utica, which was coming off a 10-1 district semifinal upset of No. 2 seed Cardington. Lexi Wiegand added two hits.
Zoey Brown homered in the sixth to get West Jefferson within 8-7, and Lexi Swaney’s sacrifice fly tied it.
“I didn’t expect both teams to score that many runs, but both teams were hitting the whole game,” Simmons said. “This season hasn’t gone the way we wanted so we’d have to fight back several times. We’ve adjusted. We know not to get down on ourselves.”
Liberty Union 9, Fairbanks 4
The third-seeded Lions ripped off six runs in the sixth inning and three in the seventh to shock top-seeded Fairbanks in Division III, winning district for the first time since 2011.
Two-run doubles from Brooklyn Brockman and Suzie Shultz highlighted the sixth, and Liberty Union (20-6) added on in the seventh on a wild pitch, passed ball and Emilyn Kanet single.
“I told them to just get one in the top of the sixth, and they went out and got six,“ Liberty Union coach Shawn Hochradel said. “Fifteen girls have bought in and believed. We talk about adversity all the time. We’ve faced it … and they answered the call.”
Shultz struck out seven and walked five.
Liberty Union will play Carlisle in a regional semifinal Wednesday at Centerville.
Jenna Dee’s two hits, including a home run, led a Fairbanks (19-3) team that was seeking its first district championship since 2014.
Jonathan Alder 5, Bloom-Carroll 2
Riley Magginis went deep for only the second time this year, hitting a two-run home run on an 0-and-2 count in the bottom of the sixth as No. 2 seed Jonathan Alder (21-4) came from behind to beat fifth-seeded Bloom-Carroll (17-12) in Division II.
“We had struggled getting some bunts down earlier — which is OK, we’ll work on that — and in my head I said, ‘let’s just hit, let’s get this,’ ” Magginis said. “We’re not a very big home run-hitting team (with three this season), and to get that was nice.”
Maginnis had three RBIs, the other coming on a sacrifice fly in the third.
Abby Bush and Evan Platfoot added two hits apiece for Jonathan Alder, which won its fifth district title since 2017 and avenged an upset loss to Highland at this stage a year ago.
Ranked 10th in the final state poll, the Pioneers will face Logan Elm in a regional semifinal Wednesday at Central.
Madelyn Gates and Allie Martin had two hits apiece for Bloom-Carroll.
Granville 4, Licking Valley 2
Ally Ernsberger’s two-run home run, her 10th of the year, provided the difference as the top-seeded Blue Aces (27-3) won a Division II district championship and defeated their Licking County League rivals for the third time this season.
Ernsberger’s homer highlighted a three-run fifth. Emily Travis singled in the tying run immediately before Ernsberger’s blast.
Megan Lodge hit her 17th homer of the season for Granville in the third, but No. 4 Licking Valley (19-9) took the lead in the fourth on an Addison Justice home run.
Ernsberger allowed two hits and struck out eight as Granville won district for the first time since 2018. The Blue Aces will play Lewistown Indian Lake in a regional semifinal Wednesday at Wright State.
Mechanicsburg 2, Danville 0
Danville’s Addy Bocock struck out 12 and gave up only four hits, but two one-run innings were enough for third-seeded Mechanicsburg (18-4) to upset the top-seeded Blue Devils (23-5) in the Division IV district final.
Five players had one hit apiece for the Blue Devils, who were ranked fourth in the final state poll and fell short of their eighth district title in nine years. Florida State signee Addie DeLong homered in the fifth to provide insurance for Mechanicsburg, which has outscored four tournament opponents 38-0.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Which central Ohio softball teams won Division II-IV district titles?
