WELLER TOWNSHIP – The Mapleton Mounties have taken this season one day at a time, one game at a time, and it’s a major reason why they’re 18-2 on the season and a perfect 10-0 in Firelands Conference play following Wednesday evening’s 6-0 win over Crestview to complete the season sweep.
“It’s a big win for today,” coach Mike Leibolt said. “We’ve been mainly one day and one game at a time, so we haven’t looked to next week yet. But it was a great win we will enjoy today and move on to Western (Reserve) tomorrow.”
As has been the case throughout the season, the Mounties leaned on a stellar performance in the circle from Kelsi Clark who struck out one and walked one throwing 61 strikes on an 85-pitch night. Her defense backed her up every time they were called upon as the Cougars stranded six runners on base.
“It has been pretty special and really solid,” Leibolt said of his team’s defense. “We’ve had a minimal amount of errors in the infield and outfield, our defense has been really special this year.”
Senior Audrey Hellickson has been a focal point of that special defense shifting over to second base from shortstop giving the Mounties one of the best infields around. She latched onto a dribbler pushed over by Clark and flicked the ball to first just before a Crestview batter reached base to preserve the shutout and get out of the sixth inning unscathed.
“Audrey at second base covers a lot of ground, (she’s) probably one of the best around,” Leibolt said. “And we have a solid defense, it doesn’t matter what position they’re at.”
Leading 4-0 at the time, it wouldn’t have hurt if the Cougars scored and Hellickson wasn’t able to make the play. But her going above and beyond to ensure her team trotted off the field immediately after is what makes this Mounties team so special.
And having an offense to complement the defense certainly helps. They had 10 hits and five RBIs on the night led by Hellickson’s two hits and two runs, Payten Frye had two hits and a run, Jaiden Simonson two hits, Addison Hess had three RBIs.
And it has Mapleton nearing an outright Firelands Conference title. The Mounties hold a two-game lead over Monroeville with games at Western Reserve and South Central flanking a title-defining series with the Eagles next week.
“Our goal coming in was the conference and make a deep tournament run, too,” Leibolt said. “We are inching towards the conference, but we keep looking at one day and one game at a time. That’s what we’re trying to stick by.”
With the conference out of reach, Crestview’s eyes shift toward the postseason. And the immediate goal is to make sure the Cougars are playing their best ball entering tournament play.
“That’s what I told the girls today, we still have a goal,” coach Josh Cunningham said. “We have a sectional title opportunity that was one of our goals coming into the season. Our conference is really tough, we can go ruin somebody else’s season … so we gotta look at those little things and try to get ready to build off this. That’s a very good team and we gotta take playing these good teams — we have Shelby tomorrow — and get ready for a tournament run.”
And what better way to get ready for the postseason than to end the regular season with the toughest stretch of play on the schedule?
“We’ve got Mapleton, we have Shelby, we have Monroeville and (had) St. Paul — that’s a gauntlet,” Cunningham said. “But that’s going to get us ready for teams in our district. It’s a tough loss, but you gotta love the fact you’re getting battle-tested. That could have gotten blown open, but we still made some plays, we just didn’t hit.
“I love the fact we didn’t lay down, we got down early against St. Paul the other night and I love the fact these girls are fighting the whole way. That’s what we gotta build off.”
zholden@gannett.com | 419-617-6018 | Twitter/X: @Zachary_Holden
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Mapleton tops Crestview, title-deciding series with Monroeville awaits
Reporting by Zachary Holden, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
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