FOUL-LINE GRAB … Edgerton’s Cara Schroeder makes the catch near the left field foul line in last Friday’s regional final versus Mohawk.
PHOTOS BY MARIO GOMEZ / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
RALLYING CRY … Morgan Cape fires up her Bulldog teammates as she pulls into second base with a double. VIEW 87 PHOTOS OF THIS CONTEST FOR FREE AT WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM
By: Mario Gomez
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
FINDLAY (May 29, 2026) — Edgerton knew the task ahead of them was a tall one. Take down the number three team in Division VII to claim a regional title and punch their ticket to state.
For three and a third innings, the Bulldogs had the Warriors on the ropes. But Mohawk flexed their muscle to the tune of three home runs and shut down Edgerton in the late innings to earn a regional title with a 6-2 win.
“They are a good hitting team,” said Edgerton head coach Marchetta Caryer. “We knew coming in we were going to have to be on our game.
“We hung a couple pitches there and you make those mistakes to those hitters and unfortunately that’s what happens.
“I’m super proud of my kids. Nobody would have ever bet on us to get here and we did it.” Aubrey Gottfried was on the mound for Mohawk and made quick work of the Bulldogs in the first inning, striking out the side.
Olivia Wallace needed only six pitches to set Mohawk down in their half of the first with a pair of groundouts and a pop out to end a quick first inning.
With two outs in the second, Amelia Giesige singled to left and got all the way to third on a throwing error by the outfielder to give Edgerton an opportunity to score the first run.
Gottfried got Cara Schroeder out swinging to end the threat. Wallace kept the Warriors off the base paths in the second with a pair of strikeouts and a grounder to keep the game scoreless.
Morgan Cape opened the third with a deep shot to left for a double to get into scoring position for the Bulldogs.
Gottfried got the next two batters out on strikes and it looked like the Warriors might get out of the inning.
Alivia Farnham caught everyone off guard and bunted, which was fielded by Gottfried whose throw to first was off line which caused a collision between Farnham and first baseman Blake Miller.
Farnham got to first before the ball got to Miller while Cape ran out the play to score the first run of the game and give Edgerton a 1-0 lead.
The inning ended with the Bulldogs holding the first lead of the game. Wallace pitched another solid inning for Edgerton, still not allowing a hit over three innings to keep the Bulldogs on top.
The Warriors made their move in the fourth inning. After shutting the Bulldogs down in the top of the fourth, Emily Brickner singled with one out and later scored after Katie Woodland hammered a shot over the deepest part of center field to give Mohawk a 2-1 lead.
The Warriors got two more hits in the inning but Edgerton was able to neutralize the damage and get out of the fourth trailing 2-1.
Gottfried found her rhythm and retired the next six batters via strikeout. Meanwhile, the Warriors kept adding to their lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, Mallory Brickner went deep for the Warriors’ second home run of the game to take a 3-1 lead.
Holding a 3-1 lead, Mohawk scored a few insurance runs to put the game out of reach.
Gottfried reached on a single then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Miller that was mishandled by Wallace and allowed Miller to get to first safely.
Kaci Steyer hit into a fielder’s choice to get Sam Haubert, pinch running for Gottfried, out at third base. Elyn Hetzel singled to center to load the bases with one out.
With Megan Johnson up to bat, Steyer was called out at second base after leaving early on a pitch for the second out of the inning.
On the next pitch, Johnson cleared the bases with another center field shot that cleared the fence to give the Warriors a 6-1 lead.
Wallace got the next batter out on strikes to reach the seventh inning.
Edgerton was down to their final three outs to mount a comeback but after Gottfried struck out Ava Giesige for the first out, the Bulldogs’ chances were fleeting.
Amelia Giesige was not ready to make the next out and connected on a 3-1 pitch that landed on the other side of the right field fence for a home run to make the score 6-2.
Schroeder made the second out on a fly ball to center.
Cape kept the Bulldogs’ slim hopes alive with a single but Addyson King hit into a fielder’s choice to record the final out and give the Warriors the win, the regional title and the trip to the state semifinals.
“When you get this far you need a little bit of luck too,” said Caryer.
“The ball has got to fall right for you. But the hard work, dedication and grit has gotten them here. We fell a little bit short of where we wanted to go but as a coach you’ll take it.
“We’ll keep our heads held high and we’ll build off of this.”
EHS 001 000 1 – 2 5 1
MHS 000 213 x – 6 9 0
WP- Aubrey Gottfried (IP-7, R-2, H-5, K-16, BB-1)
LP- Olivia Wallace (IP-6, R-6, H-9, K-6, BB-0)
LEADING HITTERS: (Edgerton) Amelia Giesige — single, home run; Morgan Cape — single, double. (Mohawk) Emily Brickner — 2 singles; Megan Johnson — home run, 3 RBIs; Katie Woodland — home run, 2 RBIs; Mallory Brickner — home run.
