LIMA, Ohio — Bryan’s softball team has gotten pretty comfortable at the district level the last few years.
The Golden Bears secured a third consecutive district crown to prove it.
Sophomore pitching standout Thea Staten fired a one-hit shutout with 14 strikeouts, while the Golden Bears got the bats rolling in multiple innings as No. 1-seed Bryan blanked No. 8 Napoleon 7-0 in a Division II district final on Saturday at the University of Northwestern Ohio in Lima.
“Our seniors have definitely done this before, and they know how to lead the team and guide us to those different big moments,” Bryan coach Samantha Molina said. “Super proud of them and all they’ve accomplished.”
Bryan (19-5), which earned its third district softball title in school history, advanced to take on Maumee in a regional semifinal at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Shelby High School. Maumee (20-8) knocked off Otsego 5-1 in a district final on Saturday.
“It’s crazy. [Winning three straight district titles] is really hard to do, and we worked really well today and came out with a win,” Bryan senior catcher Ella Voigt said.
Napoleon, which was appearing in its first district final since 2019, dropped to 11-10.
Staten, a first-team all-Ohioan as a freshman last season, dominated in the circle. She allowed just two walks, and the only hit from Napoleon was an infield single from Jadyn Wilcox in the fourth inning.
“My hat’s off to coach [Molina] and the pitching she put in,” Napoleon coach Chad Gregory said. “Kept us off balanced, and just a tremendous job on her side.”
Bryan played errorless defense behind her as well. A 4-6 double play in which sophomore second baseman Josey Arnold caught a liner from Napoleon’s Alexa Duryea and tossed the ball to freshman shortstop Amiyah Langham to double up the Wildcats ended their best scoring chance in the fourth inning.
At the plate, Bryan had a few big hits to register plenty of runs to support Staten.
Sophomore Mackenzie Blevins doubled early in the second, then scored on a Napoleon fielding error on a line drive from Arnold to give the Golden Bears a 1-0 lead. Sophomore Mylie Vollmer’s RBI bunt single scored Arnold after she reached third on a passed ball to make it 2-0.
Voigt’s RBI double to deep left scored Langham to extend Bryan’s lead to 3-0 in the third, and Arnold’s sacrifice fly brought home Voigt to make it 4-0.
Arnold doubled to lead off the sixth inning and later scored on an error; Langham followed with an RBI double; and Voigt drilled her third hit of the day with an RBI single to left as Bryan pushed its lead to 7-0.
Molina said she was excited for her underclassmen to step up in big moments at the plate.
“Really good to see that bottom of the order step it up, especially those younger girls and get some recognition that they deserve,” Molina said.
“I think we know that everyone needs to step up,” Staten said, “and I think everyone wants that big spot because they can trust it.”
Napoleon sophomore Arianna Kiessling took the loss in the circle after allowing seven runs on eight hits in six innings, with four strikeouts and three walks. The Wildcats had three errors.
Gregory was happy for his team to reach its first district final since 2019. He’s hoping his team can build off of it going forward.
“Nothing’s going to be as good as this now,” Gregory said. “That’s the hard part, so we’ve got to come back and keep putting up games like we did today.
“It happens. They’re a very young team. To get this experience today is huge. … The energy they had, the energy they had in the dugout, we fought until the last pitch; it’s hard to teach those things. They’ve got to want that, so it was really nice for them to come out here regardless of what the score ended up being.”
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