DEFIANCE – It took about one inning for Wapakoneta pitcher Megan Fisher to settle in on the all-turf mound.
After that, she was in command the rest of the way.
Fisher threw a two-hitter in a 9-1 Wapakoneta softball victory over Defiance Monday at Defiance.
A cold drizzle came down through most of the game, but with the all-turf infield and outfield, the game was never close to being stopped.
The victory gives the Redskins (15-2) at least a share of the Western Buckeye League title at 8-0. They can win the title outright with a win today at Ottawa-Glandorf.
“Coming up to Defiance and playing on their field against a team that is probably one of the better hitting teams in the state is very humbling and I think our girls did a nice job being focused,” Wapakoneta coach Bill Sammons said. “The score doesn’t indicate how close the game was.’’
It marks the second straight year Wapakoneta has won the WBL softball title.
It was Defiance’s first WBL loss of the year. The Bulldogs stand 14-6, 7-1 in the WBL.
The Redskins led 3-1 before scoring six in the top of the seventh to pull away.
Fisher went all seven innings, giving up one run on two hits. She struck out five and walked one. Fisher used plenty of change-ups with her fastball and threw 81 pitches, 52 for strikes.
She pounded the strike zone all day, starting off 18 of the 25 batters she faced with a first-pitch strike.
The new, amazing-looking, all-turf Defiance softball diamond includes turf in the batter’s box and on the mound.
“It’s a little bit different, but after the first inning, you get used to it (the mound) and it’s not that big of a difference,” Fisher said. “I used a lot of change-ups like normal and I had a good defense behind me.”
Added Sammons, “She has a very good change-up and she’s had it all year.”
At the plate, Fisher was 3 for 3 with a double, a triple and one RBI. She had two walks and scored three runs.
Wapak’s Savannah Oen went 2 for 5 with an RBI. Emma Miller was 2 for 4 with a double and two RBI.
Defiance right-hander Teya Castillo, last year’s ace, made her first start of the year on Monday. She was coming back from a season-long hip injury.
Castillo threw six quality innings before running out of gas in the sixth when she gave up six runs. She went the distance and gave up nine runs, all earned, on 11 hits. Castillo struck out three and walked eight.
She threw 158 pitches, 91 for strikes.
“I was going to go with her the whole seven no matter what,” Defiance coach Dennis Parrish said. “I have to get her stronger for the rest of the season. But they hit the ball and that’s what good teams do.
“We have been pitching by committee all year and the younger girls have done a great job, but she was my workhorse last year. She deserved it (the start) and she worked hard (to come back).”
Added Sammons, “We made her pitch a lot of pitches and I think she did wear down a little bit and that was to our favor.”
The Redskins took a 1-0 lead in the first when Castillo struggled with her location early, walking two, including walking Miller with the bases loaded.
Wapak made it 2-0 in the fourth when Mackenzie Short scored from third on a wild pitch.
Helping keep Defiance within range was its shortstop Morgan Porter, who made several diving stops and throws to nail runners.
Defiance scored its only run on a solo home run over the center-field fence by Zariah Scott in the fourth. That brought Defiance within 2-1.
In the sixth, Fisher tripled to right-center field and came home on an RBI single by Grace Jolly. That gave the Redskins a 3-1 lead.
Then, with Castillo struggling in the seventh, the Redskins scored six.
Miller, Socorro Cerda, Makenzie Wilson and Fisher all had RBI doubles. Miller, Cerda and Wilson hit theirs in a row to push the lead to 6-1.
“I went out there (in the seventh) and asked her if she wanted to finish,” Parrish said of his pitcher. “She said she wanted to finish. I left that decision up to her and she battled.”
Fisher retired the final 11 batters she faced to earn a share of the title.
“We have to stay humble because we have another (WBL) game,” Fisher said. “But we’re excited for tomorrow to have a chance to win it again.”
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