Oak Harbor shuts out Norton to reach regional final

NEW RIEGEL — Reagan Schultz was the starting pitcher three years ago when Oak Harbor was bounced before the district tournament even started.Fast forward to Tuesday when Schultz completed perhaps her biggest performance in the circle for the Rockets. Schultz allowed just four hits and used an ultra-effective riseball to get easy outs in the air, lifting Oak Harbor to a 6-0 regional semifinal softball win over Norton at New Riegel High School. "She has come a long ways from the kid who lost the sectional final to Maumee as a freshman, 1-0," Oak Harbor coach Chris Rawski said. "She pitched the game of her life that year. To come all the way to her senior year and carry her team like she's done -- for a kid that's not a true blue pitcher -- that's pretty awesome." With the win, the Rockets (23-8) advanced to face Lexington (22-4) at 5 p.m. Friday in a Division II regional championship game back at New Riegel. "Today, the riseball was working really well," Schultz said. "I'd say the screwball was the biggest aspect. They were early on it, but also they kept pulling it to the left side and our left side played very strong defensively." Schultz got timely defensive plays behind her en route to the complete game shutout. Naturally a shortstop who never pitches for her travel team, Schultz has gone from someone thrust into the circle to one worthy of All-Ohio honors. "She is a good pitcher," Norton coach Richard Castilow said. "She moves the ball a lot. We worked on in the last two days making sure we stayed on top. We still had a lot of popups. She was good." Schultz got the first two batters of the game before Ashley Schreiber singled and Bailey Acord reached on an error. But Schultz bounced back to induce a lazy ground ball to avoid damage. That set off a string off seven straight retired from Schultz. In the meantime, Oak Harbor had a chance to snatch an early lead in the first inning. Remi Gregory doubled and went to third on a groundout. The Panthers (20-9) opted to intentionally walk Hannah Schimmoeller and it paid off as Norton pitcher Chloe Bird got a groundout to end the inning. The Rockets didn't miss on opportunities the next two innings. Reese Adkins, who was celebrating her birthday, led off the second with a single. She moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and after a popout No. 9 hitter Sydney Overmyer laced a two-strike, two-out single up the middle to bring in Adkins for the game's first run. In the third inning, Gregory doubled for the second time. She advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt before Schimmoeller was hit by a pitch. Emily Sommers came through with a run-scoring single for a 2-0 edge. Norton's last threat came in the sixth. Acord walked and Tiffany Destafano reached on an error. With runners at the corners, Schultz induced a popout that was caught by Adkins in diving fashion at shortstop. She popped up and fired to first for a key double play. "It was a nice day to have a nice defensive game," Rawski said of Adkins' clutch plays. "I'm super proud of the effort we had. If we catch the ball and throw strikes, we are going to be tough to beat." Oak Harbor put the game away in the bottom of the sixth. Ashley Schiller and Overmyer each tallied singles before Schultz's double to the fence scored a run. Remi Gregory then laid down a bunt and Overmyer was safe at home. Porter Gregory followed with a two-run double in the gap to extend the lead to 6-0. "In a tight spot like that, you really need to capitalize in the late innings so you don't put yourself in a position where one or two baserunners can lose the game for you," Rawski said. "I think we did a great job of that at the end of the game." With the game fully in hand, Schultz put the Panthers down in order to finish off the win. Adkins nabbed a rocket off the bat of Fallon Donley that ended it for Oak Harbor. "Reese is a huge aspect to our team, especially as an underclassman," Schultz said. "She does great under pressure in making plays that need to be made." Bird allowed 13 hits in the circle for Norton. She struck out just two batters. The Rockets got the leadoff runner on in each of the three innings they scored in. Schultz finished with six strikeouts. Oak Harbor will play in its first regional final since a 2017 loss to Keystone. The Rockets are one of the last eight teams left in the state in Division II."It is a hard feeling to put into words," Schultz said. "It's phenomenal. We never thought we would make it this far, especially myself not being a true pitcher. I have to work my butt off every game to help my team get better. As soon as my team backs me up with amazing plays, I want to work harder for them." Norton 000 000 0 -- 0 4 0Oak Harbor 011 004 x -- 6 13 2 WP: Reagan Schultz. LP: Chloe Bird. 2B: (OH) Remi Gregory 2, Ashley Schiller, Porter Gregory, Schultz