HOLMES TOWNSHIP - The hottest softball teams in Crawford County met despite frigid temperatures and a steady drizzle Wednesday night.
And it was a thriller, as expected, with Wynford spoiling Buckeye Central's perfect start thanks to a walk-off triple by Rylee Robinson for a 3-2 win.
"Rylee is my starting pitcher and ace in the hole ... and she's a leader on the team," Wynford coach Chelsea Rice said. "We have no seniors, so she's really stepped up ... and she knows that if she can get them going, they'll follow suit. The mentality is if she can't do it, why expect anybody else to?
"The pressure's there, and she doesn't buckle under it whether she's on offense or defense. So I'm proud that it was Rylee."
Robinson was 2-for-3 at the plate with a double and triple while also scoring a run and drawing a walk. And if that wasn't enough, she struck out 10 and walked just one while in the circle. She drove in Lily Laipply for the winning run, and Kate McGuire scored the team's second run on a passed ball in the bottom of the first.
It was Wynford's fifth win of the season with the lone loss coming in nonleague play to Elgin largely in part due to six errors and freezing temperatures.
"I think (Buckeye Central coach) Todd (Messmer) has the same mentality that I do and coach (Madi) Wagner, the N10 needs to realize that we're bringing back what hasn't been there last couple years," Rice said. "Wynford hasn't been at the top, Buckeye hasn't been at the top ... but we're competitive. Sure we'll make mistakes, but we understand that it's the next play that matters.
"The girls really want to be at the top, whether that's number one or number two, whatever it is, we're shaking it up this year. You're gonna see that Wynford's gonna compete to the end."
And it's not just the Royals putting the league on notice, Buckeye Central scored 34 runs in a trio of wins to open the season as Grace Collene struck out 32 in the process. Against Wynford she was outstanding again fanning nine batters and scoring the tying run in the fourth.
But considering the conditions, Rice knew her team had a chance against Collene, who has established herself as one of the best pitchers in the greater area.
"I tell them keep the bats on our side," Rice said. "Let's keep batting, let's get the rain on the competition and not on us. When it's raining, it's hard for anybody to pitch and it's hard for anybody to field.
"Grace is a great pitcher, the best one we've seen so far and one of the best we'll see throughout the year. But when it's raining, I'd rather be hitting."
And Messmer knew what to expect Wednesday afternoon.
"When you play N10 games, you just gotta throw the record out the window because on any given day, one little mistake will cost you the game," he said. "The N10 from top to bottom is pretty competitive this year.
"I knew coming in that a hit here or an error there was going to be the difference in the game. We were expecting a dog fight, and that's what we got."
Despite suffering their first loss of the season, Messmer likes what he's seeing out of his Buckettes through the opening few weeks.
"We're happy with where we're at right now," he said. "We got a few things to work on, but in general, I'm pretty happy where we're at. We got a lot of work to do, but we feel we can compete."
BASEBALL: Wynford 4, Buckeye Central 2
After a 5-0 start to the season, the Bucks saw their winning streak come to an end against the Royals.
Wynford used a three-run sixth inning to turn a 2-1 deficit into what would be the final score of 4-2. Hunter Routson tied the game at two apiece on a Gage Massey bunt, Brayden Campbell's fly ball drove in Landon Miller after a double play before Campbell scored himself on an error during Drew Johnson's fly ball.
Campbell earned the win throwing six innings and striking out 11 before Johnson closed out the seventh.
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