Port Clinton pulls off another upset, wins sectional title

CLYDE — The funny thing about tournament seeds is that once they place a team into a bracket, they don't really matter. They don't determine some sort of scoring advantage. They're a recognition of the past, and potentially, what's to come. But frequently there are teams that play as if their low-ranking seed is just a numeral coming along for the fun ride that they're on. Port Clinton is one of those teams. Sure, there's still the number '9' next to them on the bracket. But nobody's thinking of PC like that anymore. They've got a new identity — district semifinalists. "We had this in us," Port Clinton junior catcher Addi Siefke said. Ninth-seeded Port Clinton further proved itself in a second consecutive upset, knocking off 3-seed Clyde 5-4 to win a sectional championship Thursday night and advance to the district semifinal round for the first time since 2018. PC (7-13) will play that game Wednesday, May 18 against the winner of 2-seed Wauseon and 6-seed Maumee. "I'm just so happy for these girls," Port Clinton coach Ryan Wiechman said. "They have worked hard, and this program has worked hard, to get us back to where we can be." To manage a second upset in three days, Port Clinton needed a 3-for-4 day from Siefke, 12 strikeouts by Ashton Sanchez and a rally after Clyde (12-12) took a fifth-inning lead. "I've been preaching to these guys to believe in themselves," Wiechman said. "And finally, they're starting to believe… It makes my heart happy, because they put so much work in." Sanchez stole the show early. Softball at this time of year is first and foremost about pitching, and after hitting two home runs and earning the win Tuesday at 5-seed Perkins, Sanchez was on from the outset in Clyde. The first time through the order, Sanchez struck out six, walked one and didn't allow a hit. Against the first nine hitters, Sanchez induced 18 swings-and-misses, using a mix of strong velocity, command low and away and an effective riseball. "She did a nice job, a very nice job," Clyde coach Marc Marshall said. With how Sanchez was going, the lead PC spotted her in the third almost seemed like it could be enough. Olivia Emerson led off with a single to right. After a strikeout, Kenzie Martinez bunted and reached safely for a single. Kennedy Adkins was hit by a pitch to load the bases, setting Alliyah Wharton up to drive a fly to right and bring Emerson home on a sacrifice fly. An overthrow on the sac fly allowed Martinez to come home, too. That brought up Siefke, who had already reached down nearly to the dirt to line a single the other way to left her first time. This time, the pitch wasn't quite as low, but Siefke still had to go down and get it to lace it down the left-field line. A run scored, and Siefke pulled into second with an RBI double, her second of three opposite-field hits on the day. "I told her, I'm not sure where that inside-out swing came from," Wiechman said. "... Fantastic job of hitting." Siefke, a left-handed throwing catcher, also threw out a runner stealing second to end the bottom of the third. "Shoot, she gunned that girl," Wiechman said. "She's one of the more improved girls. Catching is hard, but to catch Ashton, and her throws have been phenomenal this year." Clyde was hitless through four, although Kamdyn Taylor worked a walk, stole second, and advanced on a couple of pitches to the backstop to get the Fliers on the board. The home team came out swinging in the bottom of the fifth, as Kennedi Long and Karlee Lozier both singled the other way to right to start the frame. Sanchez got the next two outs before Karissa Smith walked. Taylor, a senior, lined the third pitch she saw down the right field line, past a diving outfielder and into the corner. All three runners scored, and Taylor reached third with a go-ahead triple to put Clyde up 4-3. "She was excited, definitely excited," Marshall said. Port Clinton couldn't answer in the sixth, but a hit by Siefke and a walk by Sanchez ensured PC would get its top of the order to the plate in the seventh. "I was really nervous, but I knew with the top of the order coming up, we have a really strong top of the order," Siefke said. After a groundout started the seventh, the leadoff hitter Martinez wore a changeup off her left foot to get on base. Adkins, on her own, laid down a bunt that not only ended with her safe at first but with Martinez scampering all the way to third. "Kenzie I always tell to be smart aggressive," Wiechman said. "That was a good, smart aggressive play to get to third." Adkins proceeded to steal second, and PC's soon-to-be career home run record holder, Wharton, was in the box. "Nerve wracking," Wharton said of coming up in that spot. "But everyone's counting on me." The Adkins steal was strike one, and Wharton foul-tipped strike two. She knew she had to at least get the ball in play, and she pulled the 0-2 pitch through the left side of the infield to score Martinez and Adkins. "You set the table for your best hitter, and she delivered," Wiechman said. "Perfect ending to the game in the seventh. You can't write it up any better than that." Sanchez began the bottom half with a pair of strikeouts, and after an error, Emerson snagged a line drive at third to end it. The celebrations told the story. Every PC player on the field jumped up and down before mobbing each other near the circle. Even the head coach Wiechman sprinted out to join the fray. For some teams, such a win would just be a step toward bigger goals. For Port Clinton, this was one of their big goals, Wiechman said. They had plenty of reasons to embrace, and then to scream as a team for one phone video and do the Griddy dance move for another. The excitement also revealed something else — this isn't a fluke. Port Clinton believes in its abilities now more than ever. Who's to say there isn't another upset in the cards? "We can definitely make it further," Wharton said. "As long as we play like that, the team we know we can play as, we can get further." Port Clinton 003 000 2 — 5 8 1Clyde 000 130 0 — 4 4 1 WP: Ashton Sanchez. LP: Maddie Dukeshire 2B: (PC) Addi Siefke. 3B: (C) Kamdyn Taylor