Huron shocks Elmwood behind Holeman's big day

CLYDE — Of course it wasn't going to be easy. Fourth-seeded Huron led by five runs entering the seventh inning, but second-seeded Elmwood got the tying run to the plate. Madison Holeman bounced back with two outs in two pitches as the Tigers won 8-6 in a Division V district semifinal at Clyde High School on Wednesday. Huron improved to 12-9 and will face top-seeded Archbold (19-6) at 5 p.m. Friday at Napoleon High School for the district championship. "That was huge," Tigers coach Jude Schmidt said. "Madison just needed to calm down, focus and trust her defense. They made some plays in the last inning. Elmwood is a good hitting team. We knew we just couldn't lay down and gave up. They were going to hit the ball and give it their all." A run-scoring triple by Bristol Evans brought Elmwood (20-9) within 8-4. She then scored on a sacrifice fly before Libbie Tyson tripled. Tyson scored on a Leah Allison single to cut the Huron lead to 8-6. After a reset, Holeman got Maddy Campbell to bounce into a fielder's choice to Lucy Hinners at shortstop. A popup to Hinners ended the game, setting off the Tigers' celebration. "I had to trust my team," Holeman said. "I know my defense has my back. They have, especially these last few games — our defense has been great." Huron trailed 1-0 before exploding for four runs in the second inning. Rylie Dehn doubled and scored on Holeman's RBI single. Allison Hillman then singled before Peyton Gammie reached when Holeman beat the throw to third on a grounder. An RBI single from Tori Cepac was followed by a fielder's choice by Hinners to make it 3-1. Hinners then intentionally got herself in a rundown long enough for Gammie to score. "We went up there and were aggressive with their pitching," Schmidt said. "We took what they gave us. We didn't try to pull an outside pitch. We didn't try to do too much. We took whatever they gave us." Elmwood answered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning, but that score remained until the fifth. Adelyn Van Sickle singled to open the inning for Huron before Kaylee Albrycht reached on an error. Dehn followed with a run-scoring single before Reece Hotz also reached on an error. That loaded the bases for Holeman, who helped herself by roping a bases-clearing double to the fence. That gave Huron an 8-3 lead. "Huge, huge day for that kid," said Schmidt of the junior pitcher. "She hit well. She pitched well. She hit her spots and kept her focus. That was big." The Tigers are in a district final for the first time since 2023 and third time since 2021. "We'll get back to work," Schmidt said. "We'll enjoy this for a little bit and then go back to work. We have to believe." Huron 040 040 0 — 8 12 3 Elmwood 120 000 3 — 6 6 2 WP: Holeman. LP: Podach.2B: (H) Holeman, Dehn; (E) Casey. 3B: (E) Evans, Tyson