Dan Gilles

The Chronicle-Telegram

BUCYRUS — Last year, a promising Keystone softball season came to a surprising end at Bucyrus High School in the Division II regional championship.
On Saturday, Keystone came back to the scene of the crime in hope of exorcising those demons.
Unfortunately for the Wildcats, history repeated itself.
A two-run third inning by Belleville Clear Fork was all that was needed to hand Keystone its second straight regional championship loss, 2-0. In 2008, a 4-3 loss to Clyde sent the Wildcats home before clinching their customary spot in the state tournament.
“That’s the way the tournament is,” Keystone coach Jim Piazza said. “One thing can cost you. We just took a little too long to get going offensively.
“But I can’t say enough about our kids. Our kids don’t quit. They represented Keystone, the community and the coaching staff with great pride. It was just a great season and they were great fun to be around.”
The Wildcats end their season at 28-4. Clear Fork (30-4) advances to its first state softball tournament since 1980.
“These kids don’t even have a clue what they just did,” Clear Fork coach Jeff Gottfried said. “I don’t even know how old I was back then.
“I think the key to the ballgame was getting the second run. We score one, and they think they are still in striking distance with what they do little-ball wise. But getting that second run was huge, and makes things that much tougher on them.”
Both teams brought senior pitchers who will be playing at Division I colleges next season — Keystone’s Kara Dill (Kentucky) and Clear Fork’s Rachel Wilson (Kent State). Both fought through an inconsistent strike zone and some good hitters to pitch great games. But it was Wilson who came out on top.
Wilson (14-1) held Keystone to one hit and six baserunners. She only retired the side in order in the first and fourth innings, but was able to shut down potential scoring rallies before they really got started.
“I give all the credit to my teammates,” Wilson said. “My success was due to them. I didn’t have my best stuff out there, but they made the plays behind me all game.”
Dill (7-3), who will play shortstop for Kentucky, struck out six and walked two. She allowed five hits and the two runs, which proved to be the difference.
“They’re a good hitting team,” Dill said. “I just tried to pitch it where I can, where I’m told to, and hopefully my fielders make the plays. They just happened to hit it where my fielders weren’t (in the third). Hats off to them.”
It was Wilson who got the ball rolling in the decisive bottom of the third, beating out a one-out infield single that traveled approximately 10 feet. She stole second and advanced to third on a single by Katie Palmer. Palmer advanced to second on the throw, putting two runners in scoring position.
Taylor Thomas followed with a deep fly to right that was caught by Kenzie Conrad for the second out. Wilson tagged, and Conrad’s throw to the plate was wide, putting Clear Fork up 1-0.
Palmer advanced to third, which proved to be huge a few pitches later, when Dill uncorked a wild pitch that got past catcher Taylor Kessinger. Palmer was able to score standing up.
“It was a game, they played well, and you have to give Clear Fork all the credit,” Piazza said. “They came up and executed when they needed to execute, and that’s what it comes down to.”
Clear Fork got two more runners on with a walk, but a flyout to Conrad ended the inning.
Getting a two-run cushion helped Wilson on the mound, even though Keystone threatened in every inning.
“We knew that (Keystone) was real good, but we also knew that we were real good, too,” she said. “We just went pitch by pitch and stayed focused the entire time. We relaxed and stayed confident in ourselves.”
The best chance Keystone had at tying the game occurred in the top of the sixth inning, with the top of the order coming to bat.
A leadoff walk to Dill and a one-out single down the left-field line by Taylor Bell (Keystone’s lone hit) put runners on first and second. Wilson came back to strike out cleanup hitter Erin Pond, bringing up Kessinger.
On a 1-1 pitch, Kessinger lifted a pop fly down the right-field line. Colts second baseman Becca Mottayaw came over to make the catch, but the ball popped out of her glove. The umpire was late calling the ball foul, which enraged Piazza, since Dill had already crossed the plate and Bell was standing on third.
One pitch later, Kessinger grounded out to third, ending the threat.
“You hate looking back, but we had runners on first and second that inning with one out,” Piazza said. “I probably should have bunted them over to second and third, and maybe that would have put a little more pressure on them. I can second-guess it now, but you can’t go backward.”
Keystone got the leadoff hitter on in the seventh, thanks to a walk by Becky Nielsen. But a strikeout and two flyouts ended the Wildcats’ last chance.
“We’re a team that never gives up,” Dill said. “We always feel that we have a chance to score. I don’t think there have been many games this year that we’ve gone scoreless. But regardless of what the situation is, we’re always confident that we can come back and score. That’s what makes this one all the more frustrating.”
Contact Dan Gilles at 329-7135
or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

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