DISTRICT SEMIFINAL … Kendall Glonek circles under a fly ball for Swanton in their May 20 district semifinal versus Paulding.
PHOTOS BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
MULTI HIT GAME … Swanton’s Lacey Shinaver clubs one of her three singles on the day. VIEW 187 PHOTOS OF THIS CONTEST FOR FREE AT WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM
By: Mario Gomez
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
NAPOLEON (May 20, 2026) – Tournament time is a win or go home scenario and Swanton was hoping to keep the momentum rolling.
Coming in with a 24-3 record and a Northwest Ohio Athletic League runner-up finish, the Bulldogs looked primed to take the next step in their Division V district semifinal game against a very strong Paulding team.
The Panthers (16-5) had other plans for the ‘Dogs, capturing a 9-4 win to move on to the district final and ending Swanton’s season at 24-4.
“We gave ourselves fits,” said Swanton head coach Lauren Yoder. “We’ve played really great defense all year. It’s something we’re not used to — us making errors — and it just so happened to be in an important game like today.”
It was a shaky start for Swanton with Beyla Remer on the mound. Remer walked Madison Clark after a nine-pitch battle but got Civil Pumphrey to pop out for the first out.
Remer went to a full count to Tia Mendez but came too far inside and hit Mendez to put two runners on. Mariah Klopfenstein walked on four straight balls to load the bases.
Coach Yoder went to the circle and brought Alexa Faber in to relieve Remer, and Faber was able to get Luci Martinez out on strikes.
Faber had a hard time finding the strike zone and walked Cadence Schwab to bring Clark home for the first run of the game.
A groundout to third base by Delaney Johanns got the Bulldogs out of the inning with minimal damage, but they trailed 1-0.
Paulding turned to Mendez on the mound to shut the Bulldogs down. She got Remer to pop out to third base for the first out but gave up a single to Lacey Shinaver and a double to Faber to put runners on second and third.
After giving a free pass to Kendall Glonek to load the bases, Mendez got Carli LaGrange to pop out to the shortstop and Jordyn Ramirez to ground out to third for the force out, escaping the inning and holding a 1-0 lead.
Paulding added to their lead in the second, getting a single from Taylor Hogans and a double from Gracie Leal off of Faber to put runners in scoring position. Yoder reinserted Remer on the mound, and Hogans scored from third on a wild pitch.
Leal moved to third on the play. Clark came to the plate and brought Leal home on a sacrifice fly to left for a 3-0 Panther lead. Remer settled in and got the next two outs to end the inning.
Swanton got on the board in the second after a double by Cara Ludlow and a single by Adriana Elliott put runners on the corners.
Payton Glonek smacked a single through the left side of the infield to bring Ludlow home and moved Elliott to second. Remer popped out to second and Shinaver grounded back to the pitcher to end the inning.
Paulding used the long ball to extend their lead in the top of the third. With a runner on and two outs, Johanns blasted a shot over the center field fence for a two-run homer and a 5-1 lead as the Panthers went to the bottom of the third.
Swanton joined in on the fun in their half of the inning. With one out, Paulding gave Kendall Glonek an intentional walk and chose to pitch to LaGrange instead.
Behind in the count at 1-2, LaGrange took the next pitch and hit it deep and over the left field fence for a two-run homer to cut the Panther lead to 5-3. Mendez gave up a single before getting the next two batters to strike out to end the inning.
Swanton held the Panthers scoreless in the fourth, but Paulding was equally stingy in the bottom of the inning, holding the Bulldogs to no runs.
Swanton got their first two runners on in the bottom of the fifth to stir up a scoring threat. After a sacrifice bunt moved Kendall Glonek to third and LaGrange to second, Ludlow hit a shot right to the glove of first baseman Leal, holding the runners. Mendez got Elliott to ground out for the third out to kill the threat and maintain the lead.
Paulding opened the game up in the top of the sixth. Schwab reached on a double, then an intentional pass was given to Johanns.
Darcy Taylor came in to run for Johanns. Hogans bunted to move the runners up, but third baseman Ludlow fielded the grounder and her throw to first was high, allowing Schwab to score while Taylor moved to third and Hogans advanced to second.
After a pop out, Clark singled to center to score Taylor for a 7-3 lead. A groundout by Pumphrey moved Clark to second while Hogans stood on third.
A walk to Mendez loaded the bases for Klopfenstein, who singled to left to score Hogans and Clark for a 9-3 lead.
Swanton started the sixth with a pop out and a ground out. Shinaver singled and moved to second after a Faber hit to put runners on first and second. Paulding walked Kendall Glonek for the fourth time in the game.
LaGrange grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the scoring chance. The Panthers went down in order in the top of the seventh to set the stage for the Bulldogs to try to overcome the six-run deficit.
The comeback fell five runs short. Ramirez reached on an error, but Paulding got a pop out and a strikeout. The Bulldogs were down to their last out, but Payton Glonek doubled to score Ramirez.
Remer came to the plate and grounded out to second base to end the game and send Paulding on to the district final.
“A lot of stranded runners,” said Yoder. “We’re not used to that. It’s hard because we are losing a fantastic senior class. There are so many positive things that came out of the season. So much to be proud of.”
PHS 122 004 0 – 9 7 1
SHS 012 000 1 – 4 12 2
WP – Tia Mendez (IP-7, H-12, R-4, BB-4, K-3)
LP – Beyla Remer (IP-6.1, H-5, R-7, BB-4, K-2)
LEADING HITTERS: (Paulding) Mariah Klopfenstein – 2 singles, 2 RBIs; Delaney Johanns – home run, 2 RBIs; Cadence Schwab – double, RBI; (Swanton) Lacey Shinaver – 3 singles; Alexa Faber – single, double; Carli LaGrange – single, home run; Payton Glonek – single, double, 2 RBIs.
