Edison beats the rain to repeat as Bay champion

HURON — Edison's softball team didn't seem to mind when the skies opened up and rain poured down Monday. By the time the weather turned nasty, the Chargers had built an 8-3 lead over Huron. The Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division game was stopped at 6:29 p.m. and a minute later the two coaches met with the home plate umpire and agreed that six full innings were enough. The result: Edison won a share of the Bay title with Margaretta. "I was hoping to finish it, but we didn't get to that point," said Edison coach Jason Caponi from behind the Chargers' dugout as the rain rolled in from the west. "I'm very happy. We're back-to-back right here. Our conference record has been pretty much second to none lately. "I know we're sharing the conference and I have no problem with that because I coached at Margaretta for eight years. I love a lot of the kids over there, too, so I'm happy for all of us. I'm more than happy to share it with them. I'm just glad we got the back-to-back part done." Edison improved to 16-5 overall and finished Bay play at 9-1, splitting the season series with the Polar Bears on the strength of a four-run rally in the bottom of the seventh to edge Margaretta 5-4 at Edison on April 23. The Chargers have a 19-1 Bay record over the last two years. "It feels amazing," Edison pitcher Abby Cloud said. "We've been working hard all season so this means a lot." Cloud struck out seven and got the pitching win after a rough first inning. Edison took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first. Slap-hitter Natalie Desautels led off with a single before Stella Brown reached on the first of five Huron errors. A Peyton Taylor groundout back to Huron pitcher Madison Holeman — who was icing her right knee before the game due to a dislocated knee cap — brought in Desautels with the first run. Cloud and Mariah McMinn added RBI singles to make it 3-0. Huron, though, was determined to make Edison earn its title. Lucy Hinners and Adelyn Van Sickle singled in the bottom of the first before Kaylee Albrycht was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Rylie Dehn walked to bring in Huron's first run and Holeman added a RBI single. Cloud found her groove after adjusting to the loose dirt and hole in front of the pitching rubber. She allowed only four hits in the final five innings and walked three in the game. "Abby pitched one helluva game," Caponi said. "That mound is horrible. It takes an inning to get ready for it. Once she got dialed in, she was lights-out tonight. "She was hitting her spots and moving the ball back and forth. She did everything she was asked to do. It was a great pitching performance by her." Cloud finished the game on a called third strike as the rain began to fall. "The mound is definitely a little bit hard to adapt to," she said. "As I kept pitching, it got a lot easier. I think making sure I was hitting my spots helped." Edison's offense gave Cloud a wider margin for error. Desautels had three hits. Taylor, McMinn and Edison Wechter each added two hits. "Everybody was hitting the ball all over the place," Caponi said. "Big bunt by Delaney Fields got two runs in there (in the fifth inning). Our goal is to score every inning. We didn't do that but came close." Edison scored twice in the third on a passed ball and a Wechter RBI single. Cloud reached base four times, including twice on walks, and pinch-runner Ella Rogers scored twice, as did Peyton Bissell, whose RBI single in the sixth game Edison a six-run lead. The game was stopped in the top of the seventh with two out and nobody on. "Our whole lineup is really strong and my defense has my back," Cloud said. Hinners finished with two singles, a double and a walk for Huron, which dropped to 11-9, 4-6. Van Sickle singled, doubled and reached on an error. Both teams will play Division V district semifinals — in different districts — Wednesday at Clyde. Top-seeded Edison takes on third-seeded Eastwood at 4 p.m. Fourth-seeded Huron meets second-seeded Elmwood in the second game. Edison 302 021 — 8 11 1 Huron 200 001 — 3 7 5 WP: Cloud. LP: Holeman. 2B: (H) Hinners, Van Sickle