Martin's slam sends Van Buren to first regional final

ELIDA — All Madison Martin wanted was a base hit. In the moment, that was all Van Buren needed. Bases loaded, no outs, bottom of the sixth, down just a run. The Black Knights could worry about taking the lead later. But Martin is locked in. She hit two home runs in the district championship and had already doubled twice Tuesday. So when she got a pitch up, she didn't miss. The ball soared well beyond the left-center fence, and Martin had extended Van Buren's season. "I knew it as soon as I hit it," Martin said. "... I was just looking for a base hit, and apparently it worked." Martin tallied three more outs in the circle, and then Van Buren (25-1) could celebrate its 4-1 regional semifinal win over Margaretta (26-4). The Black Knights advanced to their first-ever regional final and will play Cardington-Lincoln—which made easy work of Tinora—on Friday at 5 p.m. back in Elida. "It's so amazing," Martin said. "I can't believe it. We're just one big family. We couldn't do it without each other." Martin was 3-for-3 with two doubles and the grand slam. The junior right-hander threw a three-hitter in the circle. "Right now, (Martin) is super focused on doing what is best for our team," Van Buren coach Stacy Sharp said. "Her swing is great. She stays within herself." Martin's slam wouldn't have been possible without Ashlee Deitrick, though. She had struck out her first time up, but on the third pitch she saw leading off the bottom of the sixth, Deitrick smoked an opposite-field double to right-center. "Hats off to our nine-hitter, hitting a double, that's an amazing way to start the inning," Sharp said. That sparked the Black Knights. Belle Miller bunted to the left side for what was an easy infield single as the Polar Bears couldn't get an out at third on their only chance at a play. Bailey Lance followed with a full-count walk to load the bases. Margaretta took a coach's visit to the circle, which gave Sharp time to huddle with her players. She and Martin were well in agreement — this wasn't a time to do anything big. "Obviously that (situation) is trouble, but our talk was hey, we just need a base hit here," Sharp said. Van Buren fans behind the backstop suggested Margaretta should walk Martin and just take the one run that came with that. But Polar Bears coach Dale Dawson knew they really had no choice — they had to go at her. They'd tried to pitch around Martin all game, and she'd doubled once down each foul line anyway. Margaretta had no choice, and Martin took advantage. "We knew who their best player was," Dawson said. "... You've got to go at her. It doesn't take anything away from Mariah (Fields), who pitched a tremendous game. They just got into the right place at the right time with the right hitter up." The only run Van Buren allowed came in the fifth when Jayla Caponi led off with a double off the fence and Addie Kromer eventually brought her in with a single through the left side. Aside from that, Martin and the Black Knights' defense were spotless. Margaretta didn't have a hit through four. The defensive highlight was Miller's backhand stop deep in the hole at shortstop in the third before throwing out Kromer, who is Margaretta's single-season stolen bases record holder. "We've done a really good job of holding when there are runners in scoring position," Sharp said. "That's something that's been great for us all year is that we've been in tough spots and have gotten out of it. Because we know we have that in our bank, we call it, we know we can pull it from our bank." Van Buren worked around a one-out single in the sixth to give its offense a chance, and after Martin's grand slam, she worked a 1-2-3 seventh, the game ending on a groundout to third. The Black Knights mobbed Martin in the circle, where she'd done some of her best work after hitting a road bump early in the district title game before righting the ship. But they'd all remember the hit that saved their season. Deitrick had provided the flicker of hope. Miller and Lance had done what they needed to give Martin a chance. And in one glorious swing followed by a perfect parabolic flight of the softball, Martin had sent Van Buren's softball program to a height it had never before reached. "Obviously, we had some big goals this year, and they just continue to work and fight and prove that they can do it," Sharp said. "I'm just really proud of them and the way they've worked. They've earned being able to say they're the first team in school history to make the regional final." Margaretta&emsp;&emsp;0 0 0 0 1 0 0—1 3 0 Van Buren &emsp;&emsp;0 0 0 0 0 4 X—4 7 1 WP—Martin. LP—Fields. TOP HITTERS: (M) Caponi 2B. (VB) Martin 2-2B, HR, 4 RBI