'It means everything': Danbury edges Fremont St. Joseph for first district win

OAK HARBOR — The moment that Danbury junior Ellie Fish knew her team was going to win Monday night was likely earlier than everyone else in attendance. But in the end, she was right, and the play that convinced her turned out to be the biggest of the ballgame. Fremont St. Joseph had scored three runs to tie the game in the fourth inning and put runners on second and third with one out. Fish induced soft contact toward shortstop that the lead runner thought would hit dirt. It never did. Ella McDonald lunged forward, spearing the ball on a dive. From her backside, McDonald spun and fired to Moriah Hatfield covering third to complete the double play and a great escape. "Dude, it was crazy," Fish said. "I was getting a little nervous, not gonna lie. Ella's always been someone that if you hit the ball to her, she's gonna make the play. From then on, I knew we were gonna win, with that momentum we never really let up." From that point on, Danbury (19-9) scored two of the final three runs to win 5-4 over SJCC (14-13). The victory marks the biggest in softball program history for the Lakers, which had never even played a district tournament game before Monday. Second-seeded Danbury advances to a Division IV district championship game Friday night back in Oak Harbor against top-seeded Gibsonburg (18-6). "It means everything," Danbury coach Jim Fish said. "It means everything. It's a marker of where the program has come, and I'm really happy about it." The stage didn't appear to faze the Lakers, who worked a 1-2-3 first defensively and then struck for three runs in the bottom half. Maci Brown led off with a single, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Michaela Harris walked and swiped second. That set up Alera Masters to attempt a squeeze bunt, and two errant throws later, no one was out and two runs were in. "Lot of small ball there," coach Fish said. "Wanted to utilize our assets, utilize our speed." Ellie Fish, the coach's daughter, followed with a lined single to right to score Masters for a 3-0 edge. "Coach always tells us to attack first and set the momentum for the rest of the game," Ellie Fish said. "Without that monster first inning, the game goes a lot differently." The next scoring came in that three-run fourth from the Crimson Streaks, who started the inning with a single and two walks before Lauren Ritzman hit a grounder up the middle to plate two. An RBI groundout tied the game and marked the first out of the inning. That's when McDonald, a three-sport athlete who also played key roles for this year's promising volleyball and basketball teams at Danbury, made what amounted to the biggest play in Lakers softball history. "I just knew we've been working so hard and we had to get an out, and two outs was really great," McDonald said. "... After that play, we gathered ourselves and were like, 'Man, we're still in this.'" Danbury took the lead in the bottom of the fourth when Hatfield lined a single to center that was misplayed and turned into three bases. She came home on a wild pitch. SJCC matched that run in the top of the fifth to make it 4-4 when a steal of second turned into a throw into center field. "Earlier in the year, when we got down, we had trouble maintaining effort and focus throughout the game," coach Fish said. "We've learned that here lately." Masters, Danbury's catcher, quickly got her shot at redemption for the misfire. She led off the bottom of the fifth with a liner down the right-field line that skipped into the corner. She turned on the afterburners, and as the throw came toward the infield, the third-base coach Fish saw no one had corralled it and kept waving Masters, who crossed home standing up. "I just kept going, and I was just praying," Masters said. "I figured somebody would tell me to get down at home. I was just very grateful that I made it home." Danbury worked a scoreless sixth thanks to a line-drive double play, this one caught by Fish in the circle as a runner broke to steal second, making an easy double-up at first. "Our defense could've been a little bit better," coach Fish said, "but we made the plays when we needed to." SJCC started the seventh with a single, and Masters completed her redemption arc when she gunned a throw to Sarah Collins to catch the runner stealing for the first out. "I was just hoping coach would call a high pitch so it'd be an easier transfer into the throw," Masters said. "I struggled with my first two (throws to second), but I'm just glad I got the third one." Fish ended the game with a strikeout looking and then a strikeout swinging, and then it was time for hugs. Fish embraced Masters before Danbury's reserves and coaches engulfed both of them. The Lakers know the task will be tall against Gibsonburg ace Jenna Bloomfield on Friday, having not scored in two prior meetings this season. But they've also made their mark already. For the first time, a Danbury softball team will play in a district championship game. "It's crazy," Ellie Fish said. "I remember last year we played Gibsonburg in the sectional final and it felt impossible to move on from that. Even getting a district semi win is awesome. I never thought Danbury would come this far, but I guess we have." SJCC 000 310 0 — 4 5 3Danbury 300 110 x — 5 7 4 WP: Fish. LP: Thomas 3B: (D) Masters