NORTH RIDGEVILLE − With both starting pitchers having strong outings throughout Wednesday’s Division VI regional semifinal softball contest between well-known Wayne County Athletic League opponents Dalton and Hillsdale, it looked like this one would be decided by a key moment or two.
Tied up in the bottom of the sixth inning, Dalton’s Mei Simmons led off with a single. Then catcher Kenna Doty came up and came through with a clutch RBI triple in the gap of right centerfield that gave Dalton a one-run lead. A sac fly later in the inning by first baseman Arabella Wenger extended the Bulldogs lead to two runs and eventually a well-played 3-1 victory for Dalton (22-5) over Hillsdale (20-8) for the second straight season in the regional semifinals.
“I found a good pitch and swung at it,” said Doty afterwards. “I think it was huge because they only scored the one run and I knew we needed to score another one. That really changed the momentum for the rest of the game.”
Dalton head coach Rob Fiesler pointed to Doty and her team being able to see Hillsdale’s pitcher Macy Mager for a third time at-bat as a factor in the Bulldogs being able to come away with those two runs late.
“I think it had everything to do with seeing the pitcher multiple times and making the right selections,” he said. “See what she’s doing, get a good feel for the umpire and see what pitches to attack after that.”
With Mager (6 IP, 6 hits, 3 ER, 1 walk, 6 Ks, 103 total pitches) throwing three scoreless innings and Hillsdale up 1-0, it was Doty who set the tone for her team in the fourth inning.
The junior singled. Then stole a base. Then second baseman Skylar Fletcher blooped a single over Hillsdale second baseman Kiki McFadden (drove in Hillsdale’s only run) that she couldn’t reach that scored Doty to tie it up at 1-1.
“It definitely really helped to get on the board,” said Doty, who led the Bulldogs with two base hits. “We could lose 1-0, so we knew we had to score to win. That was a big game-changer.”
In a game where both Mager and Simmons (earned the win: 7 IP, 5 hits, 1 ER, 1 walk, 11 Ks, 117 total pitches) were keeping their teams in it, both Doty and Fiesler knew it would be tight and likely be decided in the later innings.
Said Fiesler, “I knew this game would be super tight. We’re so familiar. We play each other all the time. To scout each other is easy to do. You don’t have to do a lot of work, so I know we were going to be prepared. We do our best to prepare our girls, and it’s about executing at that point.”
“Yeah, even going into this game, I knew it was going to be close,” Doty said. “Seeing how the game started, I knew it would be close and it did come down to the last inning.”
In the last three innings, the Falcons threatened and were in position to score but each time the Bulldogs prevented them.
Tied at 1-1 in the fifth inning, with Hillsdale having two runners on base and two outs, Simmons struck out McFadden looking to get out of the inning.
With a big opportunity to take the lead in the sixth inning after a leadoff double by Kennedy Fickes, Hillsdale ended up grounding out twice and Doty secured an out on a pop up behind the plate.
Hillsdale’s last chance came in the seventh inning down 3-1 facing two outs and runners on second and third base with McFadden at the plate. Simmons struck her out to end the game.
“It’s just dealing with the pressure of the moment,” said Fiesler, giving his assessment of how his team finished in the final three innings. “This team does a good job at resetting and refocusing.”
The victory was Dalton’s third win of the season over Hillsdale and its sixth consecutive win against the Falcons dating back to last season.
Doty pointed to one aspect that she feels that has constantly helped her team get the better of their WCAL rivals in the past two seasons.
“The key has just been having more energy than them,” said Doty. “If they have the momentum, we just have to grab it and keep the momentum on our side.”
jamessimpson@gannett.com
Twitter/X: @JamesSimpson II
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Kenna Doty’s clutch triple lifts Dalton over rival Hillsdale in Div. VI regional semifinal win
Reporting by James Simpson II, Wooster Daily Record / The Daily Record
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
