OXFORD, Ohio — Lakota East softball coach Steve Crawford couldn’t be more proud of the Thunderhawks.
Lakota East completed its season as a Division I regional runner-up Friday night after Centerville won 9-2 at Miami University.
Lakota East (25-6) experienced a special season including a Greater Miami Conference championship and district title.
“They worked really hard to get here,” Crawford said. “One of the last eight teams in the state. We of course wanted to go further; we just got beat today. It’s all that it amounted to.”
Lakota East had an errorless game and hit the softball well, but Centerville led 2-0 after the first inning and 4-0 after two innings.
Lakota East senior Addison Morath’s RBI double to left scored junior Abrie Schulte in the top of the fourth to put the Thunderhawks on the scoreboard. Lakota East added another run in the seventh inning.
“It’s been a heck of a ride,” Crawford said. “I told them this year gets to go up on the wall in the gym a few different places. It will be there for a while. So they get to remember this, too.”
Lakota East returns most of its players next season.
“We’ll return a really good core next year,” Crawford said. “So hopefully we got another run in us and we can at least get back here and go a little further next year.”
Division II
Kings (27-1) plays Clayton Northmont (19-10) in a regional final at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Mason. Kings defeated Little Miami 8-0 in a regional semifinal Friday.
Division III
The Western Brown softball team completed its season as a regional runner-up Friday night. Greenville won 4-0 in a regional final.
Western Brown completed its season with a 28-4 record. The season included countless memories including the 700th win for the program and head coach Blaine Wallace’s 500th career victory.
Division IV
Taylor completed its memorable season as a regional runner-up. Springfield Kenton Ridge defeated Taylor 7-1. Taylor defeated Caledonia River Valley 10-9 in a regional semifinal Thursday.
