ASHLAND — Madison sophomore Lexi Lewis stepped back into the batter’s box with two strikes and no balls and gritted her teeth.
Her Rams were just itching for a momentum-changing hit that would set the Division III regional championship game against Ontario into complete chaos. She stepped up with two outs and the bases loaded and set a screaming line drive to right center for a two-out, two-strike, two-RBI single which ignited the Rams to a 7-0 victory over the Warriors.
The big hit gave the Rams a 4-0 lead that they ballooned over the final three innings.
“It felt so good to do that for my team because I knew I had them behind me,” Lewis said. “What I did only started it; my teammates kept the momentum and did even bigger things behind me.”
The Rams (15-14) will now move on to play Uniontown Lake in the Division III regional championship game at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 29 at Ashland University’s Deb Miller Stadium.
The at-bat did more than just give the Rams a comfortable lead, it was the biggest piece of evidence that proved Madison’s softball growth over the course of the 2026 season. As did the at-bat before that when Izzy Wamsley fouled off four straight pitches before watching four balls pass by to draw a bases-loaded walk to score a run.
“Early in the year, that doesn’t happen,” Madison coach Tim Niswander said. “We weren’t patient and we are swinging at silly stuff. Now, they have learned after a lot of game reps and they are putting it together. Lexi had a great at-bat and it really broke open the game.”
If that didn’t show the growth, looking back on the regular-season matchup between Madison and Ontario and comparing it to the postseason matchup sure does. Ontario beat Madison 13-3 in a six-inning run-rule on March 30.
“Coming into this game, I didn’t know what to expect because we lost to them pretty bad during the regular season,” Lewis said. “The only way to approach the game was with top-notch confidence and belief I could do what I needed to do to get the job done.”
Madison’s sophomore pitcher Caliyah Clapper also had enough confidence to fill the stadium. She allowed just two hits and struck out 11 while walking just one batter all game long. No Ontario Warrior reached third base.
“We believe we are a pretty good hitting team and for her to hold us to two hit is a huge credit to her,” Ontario coach Jamie Burke said. “She did a great job of jamming us inside and then making us chase outside or her off-speed stuff. She kept of off balance and worked ahead all game long. We took too many first-pitch strikes. Kudos to her.”
Clapper pitched just one inning in the regular-season matchup and allowed three runs on five hits to the Warriors before being bounced. Then, she was dealing with a surgically-repaired hip. Now, she is like her old self again before the surgery.
“She is healthy and she trusts her hip now,” Niswander said. “She wasn’t trusting it and it led to a lot of things spiraling and caused her to not do things she normally does.”
Lewis saw Clapper’s confidence skyrocket when the Rams spotted her four runs early in the game.
“She loves when our offense is clicking because that allows her to go out and pitch how she wants to pitch,” Lewis said. “She just locked it all down for us. She was so good.”
When Ontario fell behind, Burke saw her team get a little tight and tense at the plate. Lillian Gray and Ellie Dawson had one hit apiece, but the Warriors were shutout for just the second time this season and the first time since March 25.
“As hitters, we put too much pressure on ourselves,” Burke said. “We had to make adjustments and then we started putting the ball in play, but it seemed like Madison made every play imaginable. That middle infield is really good.”
The Rams didn’t commit a single error in the game as Cadence Gushard made several huge plays in right field and Wamsley made great plays at second base. The defensive momentum carried to the offense and the Rams put together the most complete game of the season.
“When we get even the smallest bit of positivity in an inning, it picks everyone up,” Lewis said. “If someone gets on base, everyone is up and excited and that leads to hits and more hits and scoring runs.”
Ontario finishes the season 22-7 and says good bye to three seniors, Brinlee Kreger, Morgan Pearson and Emma Fagan. Burke made sure to thank each one of them before leaving the ballpark.
“What a great group of seniors,” Burke said. “I had three extra coaches in the dugout and it has been fantastic. Brinlee and Morgan were voted team captains because of what they brought to this program. Their leadership was fantastic and losing them will hurt.”
Wamsley, Clapper and Makena Berkshire led the Rams with two hits apiece while Lewis, Allie Shrader and Chloe Jeffers had one apiece. Lewis collected two RBIs while Wamsley, Clapper, Jeffers, Avery O’Brien and Berkshire had one apiece.
Madison is now back in the regional finals for the second straight season and finally got to a game above .500. Withstanding a treacherous regular season that saw them lose seven straight from April 30-May 12 and start the year 1-4, the Rams are clicking at the right time.
“They never went away,” Niswander said. “They kept coming to practice and doing things we asked them to do and kept trusting us that we were going to get better as long as we kept plugging away. Now, they just have to finish because we are here.”
They may be 15-14, but the Rams sure aren’t playing like it and are on the brink of their first regional championship since 1995.
“It doesn’t matter,” Niswander said. “We are 3-0. We beat two No. 1 seeds including great teams like Shelby, Celina and Ontario. We are just playing the way we though we were capable of playing now. We have another great team to play in the regional final in Lake, which is really, really good.
“We have to have our A-game, but I will take my team over anyone right now.”
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Madison headed back to regional championship for 2nd straight season
Reporting by Jake Furr, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
