PICKERINGTON — Coming into the Division IV Softball Regional Semifinal, Danville coach Maryellyn Matheny kept telling her team that the game was going to come down to a big play here or there. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils on Wednesday, those big plays came back-to-back.
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A fielding error, a wild pitch and throwing error, along with two singles in the bottom of the fourth inning, was all the Strasburg-Franklin Tigers needed to scratch out two runs and end the Blue Devils’ season at Pickerington Central High School.
“I am very happy to get the win,” said Strasburg-Franklin coach Bud Weisgarber. “I knew it was going to be a tough game today. (Danville) played well. They just had the one bad inning and we capitalized on it. ... I was geared up for a 2-0 or 3-0 game. Last year, we won, 3-0, and five of my hits graduated, so I knew we were going to struggle.”
Danville outhit Strasburg, 4-2, but the Blue Devils (22-8) could never string anything together. They threatened to score on four different occasions, but could either not get the timely hit they needed or were caught trying to advance.
“This is tough; it is sad,” said coach Matheny. “Normally, you don’t go into a game thinking this could be your last game and we didn’t. It was just one inning that cost us. Everything fell apart. I said it was going to come down to who made the least amount of mistakes.”
