Gritty Granville grinds out 10-inning, 1-0 regional semifinal victory

FAIRBORN ― Granville's Ally Ernsberger and Indian Lake's Madison Brentlinger get things accomplished in different ways, and for 9½ scoreless innings Wednesday they stood toe-to-toe in the circle at Wright State University and refused to flinch in the 85-degree heat.

Then, the Blue Aces finally got the Lakers to crack.

Fortunately for Granville, it had the top of the order up in the bottom of the 10th, and Sophia Patena, Megan Lodge and Emily Travis all singled, loading the bases with none out. Brentlinger forced Patena at the plate on Ernsberger's slow comebacker, but the catcher threw the ball past first base and down the right field line, allowing Lodge to scoot home with the elusive run and pulsating 1-0 victory in the Division II regional semifinals.

"I'm glad we play in the league we do. It gets us ready to play in a game like that," said the hard-throwing Ernsberger, who threw 140 pitches, struck out 15 and walked only one in a four-hitter. It sent her team to Friday's 5 p.m. regional final against Kenton Ridge (27-4), which won 1-0 against Greenville.

While Ernsberger relies mostly on power, Brentlinger pitched Indian Lake (26-3) to last year's Division III state title game by using slower breaking stuff with great movement. On Wednesday, she stranded nine Blue Aces through the first nine innings, five times in scoring position, before Granville (28-3) finally broke through after collecting eight hits. Brentlinger struck out five and walked two, throwing 117 pitches.

"We were prepared for it, but I did not expect many runs to be scored," Granville coach Brooke Warehime said. "Brentlinger is tough, although I thought we might be able to scrape out a few runs earlier than that. We have not hit slower pitchers well, but we preached all year that as long as we pitch well and play defense, we'll always have a chance.

"Ally had that fire to her and made big pitches when she needed. She even blew her shoe out, and when she batted in the 10th she had to use Hailey Dehnel's shoes. I guess we'll have to get her another pair."

Lodge, a junior center fielder, saved the day in the eighth inning. Speedy leadoff hitter Haylee Edwards forced a high throw on her bouncer to short and wound up on second with two outs. Katie Roby then drilled a shot to deep center, but Lodge sprinted back, reached up and snagged it just before crashing into the fence.

"It looked like it was over my head, then I thought I under-ran it," she said. "I took off, put my glove up and when I turned around, the ball was in my glove."

Warehime said Lodge is capable of playing anywhere in the field but is in center for her athleticism and range. Earlier in the game, she raced in to rob the Lakers of a bloop hit.

"I didn't think there was any way she would catch it (the deep drive)," Ernsberger said. "But she ran, jumped and caught it. I was not totally surprised though."

Brentlinger was also backed by her defense, even though Indian Lake committed four errors. Granville loaded the bases with none out in the third, but shortstop Halle Roby snared freshman Ainsley Johnson's low liner and threw quickly to third for an inning-ending double play. Ernsberger led off the fourth with a double, but Brentlinger stranded runners at second and third. Indian Lake's center and left fielders made outstanding catches.

"It was curves and drops," Lodge said. "Everything was outside, and then it would break like six inches away. We had to do a better job getting a bead on the pitcher, being patient and waiting on the ball more."

Said Ernsberger: "I thought we hit her pretty well, and it felt like the first time through we were going to score. I knew eventually we would because we've been doing it all year."

Lodge and Ernsberger had two hits, while Patena, Travis, Taylor Warehime and Johnson added one apiece as Granville doubled Indian Lake in hits. But in the end, it was Ernsberger's gutsy pitching that carried the Blue Aces to one step away from Akron.

Brentlinger doubled off the left-field fence in the fourth and Katie Roby doubled to left center in the sixth, but both were left stranded. Catcher Avary King also threw out a Laker stealing in the third.

Ernsberger was not worried about her pitch count and still had plenty left in the tank.

"She was outstanding," Lodge said. "She still had her velocity and was striking people out at the end."

She actually threw 144 pitches on May 1 in an 11-9 win against Newark Catholic.

"But that was for seven innings," Ernsberger said. "This one felt different. With the weight of the game today, I just let my adrenaline carry me."

dweidig@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Gritty Granville grinds out 10-inning, 1-0 regional semifinal victory