Brock Netter, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
AKRON — Same opponent. Same stage. Same result.
After last season’s 10-0 loss in the Division V state championship, Liberty Union retooled and came charging back for a shot at redemption — and the Lions had Wheelersburg in their sights.
But ultimately, the Pirates are still … well, the Pirates. And the dynasty is alive and well.
After trailing 4-1 early on, Wheelersburg (23-5) scored six unanswered runs to steal momentum before, ultimately, holding off Liberty Union by a 7-6 final to win the program’s fourth state championship in five years.
Before the start of the season, there were a few questions about how Wheelersburg was going to reload.
Losing four starters that hit 3-4-5-6 in the Pirates’ lineup last spring — and four who struck fear in opposing pitchers before going off to play in college — wasn’t exactly an easy situation to be in.
So, if one thing was sure, it was that this year’s version of the Pirates was going to look very different.
They were inexperienced and didn’t possess that fearful aura, compared to last year’s team at least — or so everyone else thought.
Early in the season, they experimented with different lineups and learned some painful lessons after fumbling some victories, despite holding leads in the last inning of those contests.
However, all of those growing pains began to callous over at the right time and it paid off once the tournament started — evidenced by regional victories over Claymont and the epic comeback win over Tuscarawas Valley.
And now, for the fourth time this decade, and fifth time in school history, the Pirates are bringing back the top prize in the state.
However, it was anything but easy to do.
Liberty Union (27-2) came firing out of the gates, scoring first on a passed ball to take a 1-0 lead.
Later in the inning, the Lions added to the early advantage when Emilyn Kanet ripped a two-run single into right-center field, pushing the lead to 3-0.
Wheelersburg got a run back when Ava Estep, who walked to get on base, scored off a dropped third strike to cut the deficit to 3-1.
The Lions, however, answered by successfully executing a double steal for a 4-1 score.
The Pirates went scoreless in the second and third frames, but the fourth was a different story.
Following a leadoff double from Jalynn Drake and a two-out walk, Libby Allen roped an RBI single into center field to cut into LU’s advantage.
That set up Mati Jennings to deliver in a huge way and she took full advantage of the opportunity. Jennings took a 1-0 offering just inside the left field line for a two-run double, tying the game at 4-4.
A scoreless fifth inning brought on a dramatic sixth.
Liberty Union managed to load the bases, but flew out to end the threat and that opened the door for ‘Burg.
Lauren Truitt led off with a single, and that set up Allen to deliver the biggest swing of the game with an RBI triple into right-center field, giving the Pirates their first lead at 5-4.
Jennings followed that with an RBI single, making it 6-4, before Mylee Gleim made it a 7-4 score with an RBI single of her own.
Liberty Union did all it could in the top of the seventh to mount a comeback of its own, and scored two runs to produce the night’s final, but Emmee Eaton induced a groundout to second base to cement the fourth title in five years.
NOTE: SOSA will have additional details, photos, postgame video and postgame comments from Wheelersburg’s Division V State Championship win this evening.
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