NANKIN – It would have made sense if there had been an eclipse Tuesday at Mapleton High School.
Absolutely everything else seemed to line up perfectly during what was a momentous afternoon for the Mounties’ softball team.
On Senior Day for six of the team’s starters, Mapleton not only earned its 20th win of the season over visiting Monroeville, 7-0, but the Mounties also clinched their first outright Firelands Conference title in 20 years.
Photos courtesy of Rachael Leibolt
To cap it off, senior pitcher Kelsi Clark unknowingly threw the first no-hitter of her career against an Eagles program that has played in back-to-back state championship games and had beaten her one day earlier, 6-4.
“It’s always been a dream of mine and I didn’t even realize it happened tonight,” Clark said. “… It didn’t register in my head that I even had it.
“I’m feeling pretty good; probably gonna celebrate with some B-Dubs or something.”
There was bound to be a ton of celebrating in Nankin on Tuesday.
The Mounties, ranked No. 8 in Division VI in the latest Ohio High School Softball Coaches State Poll, improved to 20-3 (12-1 FC) and finished a perfect 10-0 at home for the regular season.
They started the spring 15-0 and a victory Friday at South Central might mark the first time they’ve ever won 13 games in league action.
Mapleton also has been itching to start tournament play, which kicks off Wednesday at home against Wellington.
Mounties head coach Mike Leibolt said it was good to see such a dominant outing against a Monroeville team (14-7, 9-4) that had handed his squad its lone league loss just 24 hours earlier.
“We just wanted to come back, fight, be aggressive, play hard and have fun,” he said. “We’re big on having fun and enjoying the game.
“They will enjoy it for tonight, but (Wednesday) starts the tournament. Step one of two is done.”
Clark was a catapult to it all.
The right-hander improved to 13-1 and lowered her ERA to 1.76, mostly pitching to contact and letting a rock-solid defense work behind her.
Sophomore Addison Hess was responsible for six of the game’s first nine putouts from shortstop and Clark got some help on a few dazzling plays in the outfield as well.
In the top of the fifth, senior Mattie Bates made a sliding grab on a sinking line drive in center field. Then in the seventh, senior left fielder Jaiden Simonson dove for a catch down the line.
It was the ninth shutout for MHS, but Clark said it was the best the defense has played behind her all season.
“I felt like our infield and outfield was really tight today and we just had a lot of trust out there,” she said.
“She threw a couple changeups there at the end,” Eagles head coach Pat Scheid said, “but it wasn’t anything (really different from Monday). We were hitting it, but they were making great plays.
“Today, we couldn’t find the gaps and their defense played a great game.”
Clark finished with four strikeouts and threw 47 strikes on just 66 pitches. She didn’t fall into a single hitter’s count after the first inning. The only thing keeping her from a perfect game was Monroeville’s Taylor Scheid, who walked in the first and was hit by a pitch in the fourth.
“That’s her best outing of the year, by far,” Leibolt said. “She always pitches better at home and she came ready to play today.”
Mapleton offense continues to find success
Mapleton’s offense was equally stellar against Eagles’ ace junior Payton Weilnau, who had beaten them a day earlier.
The Adrian College commit entered Tuesday with an 11-4 record and a 1.27 ERA, averaging 2.2 strikeouts per inning (184 in 82.3).
While she collected eight whiffs against the Mounties, she allowed eight hits and at least one run in four different innings.
Mapleton was all business from the get-go.
After senior Audrey Hellickson (3-for-3, 2 runs, RBI) roped a single and stole second, Hess (2-for-3, 2 RBIs, 2 runs) drove her in with a single. The sophomore moved up to second on the throw home, then reached third when that throw got by the catcher.
Sophomore Payten Frye (2-for-3, 2 RBIs, 2 runs) knocked her in with a single and came around to score when her delayed steal of third drew an errant throw.
After a slow start Monday at Monroeville, the Mounties were up 3-0 after an inning.
“We were more up with each other the whole time today and it was definitely a better start,” Hellickson said. “It was really important to (get ahead early) to get our spirits up.
“We hit what we wanted to hit today, whereas (Monday) we hit (Weilnau’s) pitches.”
Hess roped a double off the left-field fence in the third to plate Hellickson again, then scored on a passed ball to make it 5-0. The sophomore, who was named the FC Player of the Year in girls basketball, is now batting .634 with 41 RBIs, 40 runs and 19 extra-base hits – all team-high totals.
In the fifth, Hellickson hammered an RBI double to score Clark before she was thrown out trying for a triple.
Mapleton finished 4-for-5 with runners in scoring position and didn’t strand a single runner on base the entire game.
Frye put the finishing touches on it with her first home run of the season in the sixth on a day that MHS seniors Clark, Hellickson, Simonson, Bates, Ava Clay and Kendall Ramey all were honored.
The Mounties now have outscored their opposition 237-52 and have nearly doubled their win total from last season’s 11-13 squad. Tuesday proved to be a culmination of big moments they hope lead to an even bigger postseason.
No player on the current roster was even born the last time MHS enjoyed an outright league crown.
“We’ve definitely had a lot of talks (as teammates about the outright title) and a lot of things we said we would do if we got it, and celebrations,” Hellickson said. “Me and (Clark) had a celebration we made today and we’ve been sending each other TikToks about it.
“There’s been a lot of talk about how cool it would be if we stick with each other and get that title.”
