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Macee Eaton makes Cardington pay, helps lead Wheelersburg to 5-2 win in OHSAA Division 3 state semifinal

Macee Eaton drives in go-ahead run and scores twice to help Wheelersburg get to the state championship game
Wheelersburg softball Macee Eaton Ryan Isley

AKRON, Ohio – One decision was the difference between going to the state championship game and going home as Wheelersburg defeated Cardington 5-2 in a Division III state semifinal on Friday evening.

Wheelersburg slugger Macee Eaton wanted to hit. Cardington wasn’t going to let her. And then they did. And she made them pay.

With a runner on first and nobody out in 2-2 game in the top of the fifth inning, Eaton stepped to the plate. She had drawn two intentional walks in her first two plate appearances, but Cardington coach Tom Brininger made the call to pitch to Eaton this time.

Cardington pitcher Genevieve Longsdorf quickly got ahead in the count 0-2, but Eaton connected on the third pitch and laced a double to right to score Haley Myers from first base to break the tie and give Wheelersburg a 3-2 lead.

“I have worked on it all season, just understanding that sometimes they don’t want to pitch to me,” Eaton said. “But every time they mess up, I want to take the opportunity and crush it.”

Brininger, who walked Eaton in the first with a runner on third and two outs and then again to lead off the third, admitted he thought about putting her on again but ultimately decided the game situation didn’t call for it.

“There was a thought,” Brininger said. “But there were no outs, and I did not want to put two runners on with no outs in the inning. We have an all-state pitcher. She got those first two quick strikes and she just left that one a little too much over the plate on an 0-2 count.”

While it was the hit by Eaton that will draw the highlights and the praise, she might not have even gotten the opportunity had Myers made an out to start the inning.

“I would like to point out that the key to that is the leadoff hit by Haley Myers,” Wheelersburg coach Teresa Ruby said. “It was late in the game. I knew they would probably walk her in the beginning, but I knew the later we got in the game and we could get people on base and it was a tight game, some time they would have to pitch to her. Kudos to Haley Myers for getting on base in front of her.”

After Eaton went to third on a wild pitch, she scored on a grounder to short by Sydney Skiver to make it 4-2.

While it can be frustrating when teams continue to not pitch to you, Eaton has taken it in stride and keeps herself in the game mentally for when they are ready to give her a shot.

“Every time I am going to come up to bat, I think I am going to hit,” Eaton said. “When they want to take it away from me, I just think ‘ok, next at-bat,’ so I just don’t put myself out of the game.”

Eaton’s ability to block out the intentional walks and stay in the game is what helped Wheelersburg tie the game in the third inning when they trailed 2-1.

After her second intentional walk of the game, she went to second on a groundout by AndiJo Howard and got to third on a single by Skiver. 

Then the two attempted a delayed double steal. Skiver took off for second and drew a throw from Cardington catcher Emalee Artz. As the ball was in the air, Eaton darted for home. While Skiver was out at second, Eaton was safe at home with the tying run.

“I am just extremely proud of Sydney,” Eaton said. “She has been working hard all season and she drew the throw, so I couldn’t be more proud of her.”

That tie was then broken when Eaton got an opportunity to hit on a decision that just may have sent Wheelersburg to the state title game.