BELLVILLE — The next time Darian Gottfried’s mom and dad want to see their daughter pitch, they’ll have to buy a ticket — a plane ticket, that is.
The Richland Source Pitcher of the Year, Gottfried is headed to Division II Black Hills State University in the fall. Black Hills is located in Spearfish, South Dakota, more than 1,200 miles from Bellville.
Gottfried’s father is longtime Clear Fork head coach Jeff Gottfried. Her mother, Kerri, is Clear Fork’s veteran assistant coach.
Dad and mom have had a front-row seat for Gottfried’s stellar four-year career. She was twice named the Ohio Cardinal Conference Pitcher of the Year.
“She grew up in the dugout,” Jeff Gottfried said after the Colts were eliminated by Oak Harbor in the Division II regional semifinals. “I’ve done this 18 years and she was 6 months old the first game I coached.”
Darian led the area with 16 wins during the regular season. She posted a 1.78 earned run average with 98 strikeouts, helping the Colts to a tie for second in the final OCC standings.
“It was challenging, especially when I was a freshman,” Darian said of playing for her mother and father. “It’s gotten better and better each year.”
Gottfried is the anchor of a high profile All-Richland Source pitching staff.
Hillsdale’s Sydney Long was selected to the Division IV All-Ohio first team for a second straight year. The junior was selected the Wayne County Athletic League Player of the Year after leading the Falcons to the regional tournament.
Colonel Crawford’s Sydney Studer was an All-Ohio first team pick in Division III. She was the Northern 10 Conference Player of the Year, helping the Eagles reach the regional semifinals. Studer had 16 wins with a 0.94 ERA and 162 strikeouts during the regular season while batting .565 with seven home runs and 41 runs batted in.
Ashland’s Bryanna Masters earned a spot on the Ohio Cardinal Conference first team after ranking among area leaders with 109 regular season strikeouts. The senior had seven wins and posted a 2.99 ERA while batting .378.
Lucas sophomore Erica Westfield pitched the Cubs to the Division IV Final Four. Westfield outdueled Hillsdale’s Sydney Long in the regional semifinals as the Cubs avenged two regular season losses to the Falcons.
