Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
ATHENS — After 28 years without winning a district title, Unioto has gone back-to-back.
Behind timely hits from Mackenzie Eisel and Alexis Book, the Shermans rode the arm of Hannah Hull and an excellent defensive performance to a 2-1 victory over Circleville in a Division II district final on Friday.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
“Getting one district title is hard enough, but going back-to-back is incredibly special and I couldn’t be any happier for these girls,” Unioto coach Rob Hull said. “Circleville is a great team, we saw what they did against Hillsboro. They hit the ball really well and battle you for seven total innings. But we have team goals we set and this is was another thing we wanted to accomplish this season.”
For four innings, stellar pitching and superb defense took center stage for both teams.
Unioto’s Abbie Marshall had the only two hits for the Shermans, while Gabby McConnell had the lone hit for Circleville midway through the contest.
“Hats off to both Hannah and Gabby, they both pitched outstanding games. But Hannah is been in a lot of tight situations more so this year than in the past,” Rob Hull said. “We’ve had a target on our backs all year, and when we aren’t hitting the ball the way we normally do, she’s put us on her back and taken control. She was in command, kept a cool head, maintained her composure and got the job done.”
That trend appeared as if it was going to continue in the fifth, but Eisel, Book and Unioto (23-3) had other plans.
With two outs, Eisel notched a single to extend the inning. That set the stage for Book to smack an RBI triple off the left-center field wall before she scored on a throwing error to put her team ahead 2-0.
“Mackenzie has been big for us all year and she’s had a lot of really great timely hits,” Book said. “I knew there were two outs, so I had a do my job to at least get her around or score her if I could. I saw the pitch and I thought it was gone, but I kept running after I saw it hit off the wall. Mackenzie scored and Circleville made an error so I kept running until I got home.”
Circleville (16-10) attempted a rally in its final at-bat. Ella Michael smoked a leadoff double and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Ally Thornsley, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
However, a pop-out in foul territory ended the game and sent the Shermans to a second consecutive Sweet 16 appearance.
Hannah Hull tossed a complete game for the win, allowing just two hits and striking out four batters. Book finished 1-for-3 with a triple and an RBI, while Eisel was 1-for-2 with a run scored.
For Circleville, McConnell allowed just four hits and struck out three batters on the evening, while Thornsley was 0-for-2 with an RBI.
Unioto advances to a Division II regional semifinal at 5 p.m., Wednesday at Pickerington Central High School. The Shermans will face Dover, who topped John Glenn to advance.
“Our whole philosophy has been to take things one day and one game at a time,” Hannah Hull said. “We’ll get back to putting in work in the cages and on the field, making sure that we get there to Pickerington and put our best effort in.”
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