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CHILLICOTHE — Wheelersburg’s Teresa Ruby couldn’t put her Pirates’ season into perspective with just one word on Friday night.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
The legendary head coach had just watched her girls run-rule South Webster in a Division III regional final to win the program’s seventh regional championship — its third consecutive.
Instead, Ruby just said, “I’m in awe. I’m truly in awe.”
All year long, the defending state champion Pirates have felt pressure. All year long, they’ve dealt with high expectations. All year long, they’ve taken each opponent’s best shot with a bright red target painted clearly on their backs.
And all year long, they’ve kept piling up victories.
Win number 30 came on Friday in a 13-0 rout of their SOC II rival — a victory that was highlighted by 15 hits and a pitching gem from junior Andi Jo Howard.
“We started this season with everyone talking about the expectations of this team,” Ruby said. “They’ve played with a target on their backs. All year. But just how they’ve handled themselves and how they’ve responded … just tremendous. It’s been a joy to be a part of.”
Freshman Ava Estep led off Wheelersburg’s first at-bat with a double into left field. She later scored when Catie Boggs logged a sacrifice fly into deep right for a 1-0 tally.
“[Estep] is a great young talent and she’s got a lot to look forward to,” Ruby said. “She puts in the work. It’s going to be fun watching her throughout her career.”
Later in the inning, Howard laced an RBI single into the outfield green — scoring Macee Eaton, who had singled — to make it 2-0.
The Pirates (30-0) played add-on in the second with a two-out rally.
Rileigh Lang started the sequence with a single before Estep followed suit and stole second. Haley Myers then stepped to the dish and ripped a seeing-eye single through the left side of the infield to plate both runs, making it 4-0.
But the Pirates were far from finished.
After Eaton singled a second time, Boggs powered an RBI single into left field, making it 5-0. Howard then put an exclamation point on the inning, making it an 8-0 ballgame with a three-run, no-doubt home run.
But that entire sequence started with Lang … and with two outs.
“It’s a momentum builder,” Ruby said. “[Lang] is in the nine spot but she’s not a nine-hole hitter. She’s another leadoff hitter and she’d be leadoff for every team we play. She’s got a lot of skill and she just goes at it. She plays a mean right field, too.”
All the while, Howard continued to cruise in the circle.
The junior worked methodically, retiring 13 consecutive hitters at one point. But what else is new?
“She’s a gamer,” Ruby said of Howard. “She’s not going to be flashy. She’s just a gamer. She’s going to battle you until the last out.”
Nothing changed in the bottom of the third and, put simply, South Webster (23-5) didn’t have an answer.
Kaylynn Carter started the inning with a single before Emma Smith worked a five-pitch walk. Lang then singled to load the bases before Estep logged a two-run single, making it a 10-0 tally. Myers then stepped to the plate and collected her second hit, a two-run double, to push the lead to 12-0.
Finally, Eaton singled to knock in the night’s final run, cementing the final score.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Howard finished the night 2-for-3 at the dish with a home run and four RBIs while working all five innings in the circle, allowing just two hits while striking out four.
Estep also helped the Pirates’ efforts, going 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs, Eaton was 3-for-3 with two runs and an RBI, Myers finished 2-for-3 with a double and four RBIs, and Lang went 3-for-3 with two runs.
Wheelersburg now advances to a Division III state semifinal at 12:30 p.m., Thursday at Akron’s Firestone Stadium. The Pirates will meet with Canfield South Range — an 8-4 winner over Warren Champion on Friday.
“We’ve prepared all year,” Ruby said. “We’ve had a tough schedule. Every game we’ve played outside of our conference has been a tough game. So we’ve prepared all season to go to Akron and play. Every game we’ve played in the tournament, I’ll say, ‘Are you expecting to see something you haven’t already seen?’ The answer is no. So we just have to trust the process, believe in it and we’ll be fine.”
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