Whitmer slugs two 3-run blasts, ousts Findlay

FINDLAY – It's called situational hitting, and when the situation presented itself, Toledo Whitmer'sPaxton LaPoint and Olivia Munoz delivered.LaPoint and Munoz each hit three-run home runs to highlight back-to-back four-run rallies that carried Whitmer to a 9-2 win over Findlay on Tuesday in a Division I district semifinal softball game at Babcock Field."Every single one of our girls has hit a home run this year, except for maybe three or four," said Whitmer coach Cassi Waggoner."They're up there looking for quality pitches and they hit them hard, all the way through the lineup."Whitmer, the No. 7 seed in the district field, improved its overall record to 13-8 and will face No. 4-seed Berea Midpark (18-8) in today's district final at Cuyahoga Community College in Parma. Midpark advanced by beating Strongsville 10-0 on Monday.Findlay wrapped up an 18-7 season, tying the 2004 (18-11), 2017 (18-7) and 2021 (18-8) teams for most wins."We would love to keep playing," said Brian Steffes, who has guided the program to a 72-56 record in his five years as head coach."It just didn't work out today."Findlay and Whitmer, both members of the Northern Lakes League's Buckeye Division, had split their home-and-home conference games, Whitmer winning the first matchup 5-0 and Findlay taking the second 18-17.Whitmer ace Alexis Stoldt, who pitched a three-hit shutout in that first game but was roughed up a bit in the second, was on her game again on Tuesday, allowing just three hits. The senior right-hander walked four and hit one batter, but was backed by a solid defense that included one diving catch by Ryleigh Hannibal in the first inning, another snow-cone grab by the leftfielder in the third, and shortstop Olivia Munoz spearing a rocket off the bat of Lola Spieles to snuff a small Findlay rally in the fourth."We were hitting the ball hard," Steffes said. "But a lot of times it was right at them, and they made some good plays."Natalie Steffes, who earned the win in the slugfest game with Whitmer, started in the circle for Findlay. With both teams seeing the same pitcher for the third time this season, there was bound to be a familiarity going into each at-bat.It certainly seemed that way for Whitmer.When play resumed Tuesday, Raegan LaPoint walked and Marissa Ibarra laced a single down the leftfield line. Ibarra was erased on Taylor McCloskey's grounder to second, but pinch runner Madilyn Wealleans, who had moved to third on McCloskey's grounder, scored on Munoz's fly ball to center.After Kenzie Englehart grounded a single up the middle, LaPoint, a 5-foot-4 freshman, smashed the first pitch she saw over the fence in left center.Hannibal looked at two off-speed pitches leading off the fourth inning, then hammered a 2-0 fastball for her third home run of the season. Raegan LaPoint drew one-out walk, McCloskey drew a two-out free pass, and Munoz, hitting sixth in the Panthers lineup, stepped in and crushed a 2-2 pitch to right center to make it a 9-0 game."We can hit the whole way through the lineup," Waggoner said of a Whitmer team with a .346 batting average."They're not necessarily looking for a fastball. Some are up there looking for a change-up. Our hitting is based on finding their pitch and having a good mind-set going into the box.""This is the third time we played them this year and Natalie pitched every time," Brian Steffes said."They knew what to expect. They were looking for a particular pitch and they did a nice job with it."Englehart was 3-for-4 and reached base all four times she came to the plate. In addition to her fourth-inning home run, Munoz had a single and a sacrifice fly and drove in four runs. Hannibal (1B, HR, RBI) and Ibarra (2-1B) also had two hits each.Stoldt took a one-hit shutout into the sixth inning. But she walked Addie Sprang leading off the inning and Davinee Harris followed with a no-doubter blast over the leftfield wall.Avalon Sprang then reached on Whitmer's lone error of the game. The Panthers turned a 1-3-5 double play on a Delaney Harris bunt, though, to end the threat. Pinch hitter Emmalynn Strausbaugh led off the last of the seventh with a bloop single and Monika Kerwin was hit by a pitch. With two outs Addie Sprang drilled a low liner to short, but Munoz speared it on the short-hop and flipped to second to end the game."I wish we could have gone farther in tournament, but it didn't happen," Addie Sprang said after wrapping up a record-setting career at Findlay High. A four-year starter, she will leave as the program's all-time leader in a number of categories, including home runs in a season (12) and career (28)."It comes down to a lot of things: your mechanics, muscle memory, your strength, what you do in the gym …" said Addie Sprang, who will attend Wheeling Jesuit University."I set career goals. I didn't know if they would happen, but I put everything into it that I could."Whitmer 104 400 0—9 12 1Findlay 000 002 0—2 3 3WP—Stoldt. LP—Steffes. TOP HITTERS: (TW) Hannibal 1B, HR, RBI; R. LaPoint 1B, RBI; Ibarra 2-1B; Munoz 1B, HR, 4 RBI; P. LaPoint HR, 3 RBI. (Fin) Da. Harris HR, 2 RBI.