Unioto overwhelms Hillsboro to claim first district title since 1995
ATHENS − Alexis Book sprinted toward the center field fence as she chased down a routine fly-ball. The junior looked up and extended her glove as her teammates watched her attempt to close out Unioto's district title game against Hillsboro.
It was an easy catch. Book didn't slow down until the ball fell in her glove. Unioto fans erupted from the stands at Ohio Softball Field. Book celebrated with a handful of teammates on the outfield grass before racing to meet the rest of the Shermans in the pitching circle.
For the first time since 1995, the Shermans had won a district title. Their 6-2 win over Hillsboro on Thursday night broke an almost 30-year dry spell and brought a Division II district championship back to Unioto.
"We told them today where we were at, how long it's been since we've won a district title," Unioto coach Rob Hull said. "You walk into our locker room and you see runners-up, all the trophies. These girls worked their tails off. I'm super proud of them. They have done everything that we've asked them to do."
During their district semifinal game against Jackson on Wednesday, the Shermans didn't score a go-ahead run until Morgan Daniels scored Book on an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning.
It took two at-bats for the duo to pull Unioto ahead on Thursday.
Book led the lineup with a single in the bottom of the first, and she stole a base to put herself in scoring position. Daniels ensured Book kept advancing. On just the second pitch of her first at-bat, Daniels hit a ball along the left field line that slipped past Hillsboro's left fielder. Book scored with ease, and Daniels raced around the bases to notch a two-run inside the park home run.
With just two batters, the Shermans took a lead they'd hold all night.
"We just knew leading off in the game that we had to come out and do our job," Book said. "We know that we're leading off the lineup and we have to come in and just do what we do. We can't come out slow."
Daniels ended the game 1-for-3 with two RBIs, and Book clocked out Thursday after going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs. Book only had to wait another inning before logging her second run of the game. She hit a single to deep center field in the second, and a fielding error gave her and Amaris Betts enough time to sprint home.
Hillsboro never put up a measured response. Hannah Hull harassed them from the circle and held them scoreless through the first three innings. Hull pitched a complete game and struck out four while only giving up five hits. She commanded the plate, and a solid fielding effort from Unioto stumped Hillsboro further.
Unioto never gave up ground for long. Hillsboro shaved down the lead with a solo home run in the fourth and an RBI single in the fifth, but it was of little consequence. RBI singles from Book and Ava Dettwiller that scored Halle Uhrig and Megan Miller respectively erased what little progress Hillsboro made.
"We wanted her to throw a lot of pitches and that's what we did," Hull said. "That was our game plan, get her tired. I think in the fourth, fifth inning that's when she started to really wear down. And I take nothing away from her, that girl battled and she played with all her heart. But tonight these girls executed their game plan and our game plan, and we come out victorious. It's just a great feeling."
Unioto had faced Hillsboro twice in the regular season before Thursday. One of those games ended in Unioto's lone nonconference loss of the regular season. But that was then. Thursday was a fresh start. With a district title on the line, Unioto put the past behind it and came out swinging.
Now, a regional semifinal matchup with Indian Valley awaits. It won't come easy, but Unioto is taking one game at a time. But, at least for Thursday, it can revel in its first district title in almost three decades.
This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Unioto overwhelms Hillsboro to claim first district title since 1995
