PICKERINGTON — The last ones off the field Wednesday were Keaura Shilling and Camie Newbold.
Danville’s two seniors, cloaked in sweat and dirt under the late-May sun, were the subject of a tear-filled procession – each player and coach on the team taking a moment to express their gratitude for the duo’s dedication over the last four years.
The duo had been a part of history, having won three district titles in three attempts (their sophomore season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). They’d helped build the legacy and carry forward the standards of one of Ohio’s premier small-school softball programs.
But now, in the blink of an eye, their time was up. Their careers in blue and white had come to a close.
Danville fell to Portsmouth Notre Dame, the state’s seventh-ranked Division IV team, 10-0, in the regional semifinals on Wednesday at Pickerington Central High School.
The Blue Devils were among the final 16 teams remaining statewide for the second straight year.
“This game doesn’t take anything away from what they’ve done for this program,” Danville head coach Charlie Duncan said of his seniors. “All the way through, (from) helping build our youth program to them pushing these underclassmen.
“Again, they’ve never lost a district championship. That’s always one of their goals going into the offseason – we want to keep that district championship streak alive – and they can say that as graduates now.”
HOW IT UNFOLDED: Notre Dame jumped on Danville early Wednesday and never relented.
The Titans scored twice in the first inning – on a double from Kyndall Ford and a single from Libby Kelly – to take an early 2-0 lead.
They’d strike again in the third. Bree Hicks hammered a RBI single to left field, scoring a runner from third, and Annie Dettwiller sent a line drive to center that plated another from second.
Notre Dame led 4-0 after two innings of play.
The Titans scored twice more in the fourth – on a bloop single from Maddie Entler and a line-drive double from Dettwiller – to make it 6-0. Kelly rocketed a solo home run over the left field fence in the fifth, and Ford made her own noise in the sixth, sending a two-run dinger over the right field fence that increased Notre Dame’s lead to 9-0.
Katie Strickland scored the Titans’ final run in the top of the seventh, sliding home on a wild pitch after stealing second and third.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame played a near-perfect game defensively.
The Titans’ starting pitcher, Gwen Sparks, allowed just two hits through six innings of work. She struck out nine batters and walked one, using a dizzying mix of pitches to stifle the Blue Devils.
“She’s tough,” Duncan said of Sparks. “Kid’s only got one loss all season long, and I think it was 1-0 to Marysville, a D-I powerhouse in our own backyard here. She’s only got one loss for a reason.”
And her defense performed to the same standard. The Titans rarely let a hit past the infield – diving for grounders and firing SportsCenter-worthy throws from the dirt.
“Even when we did hit the ball hard, it was usually at somebody – even that last play they made over here, we hit it so hard and she bobbled it, but it still just bounced out of her glove and right into her hand. …” Duncan recalled. “That’s a great team over there.”
The Blue Devils were only able to muster three hits against the Titans, who had outscored their first three tournament opponents 28-2. The closest they came to scoring was in the fourth inning, when Danville moved runners to second and third with one out.
Sparks would have none of it. She proceeded to strike out the next batter, then force a fly-out to center field to end the inning.
“We knew we had to put the ball in play. … We knew we had to hit the ball,” Duncan said. “Defensively, we thought we could’ve played a little better of a game, and we knew we couldn’t make mistakes. It just wasn’t our day and it was theirs.”
LOOKING AHEAD: Despite the loss Wednesday, Duncan said the Blue Devils have plenty to be proud of.
Danville finished the season 16-9 – tied for third place in the Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference, which produced five district finalists this spring, and district champions for the seventh year in a row.
The Blue Devils outscored their first three tournament opponents 36-4 before ultimately falling to Notre Dame in the regional semifinals.
Shilling said afterwards that it was an honor to play for her hometown team.
“This program really helped me develop as a player more,” the senior said through tears. “Coming in as a freshman, there were a bunch of upperclassmen and I was the only freshman playing on varsity, and they really took me under their wing and helped me grow as a player.
“It’s really become a second family to me, and I know if I need anything, I can come back to any one of these girls or the coaches and they’d be there for me in a second.”
Shilling said Danville’s recent success has been a product of its work ethic. She credited the players and coaching staff for their relentless pursuit of improvement over the years.
“I think it just comes down to the work ethic of the girls here. And the coaches put all the time in, (during) the season and in the off-season,” Shilling said. “Everyone’s just pushing to be better than (they were) in the past, and they just continue driving to be there.”
And the future is bright for Danville. Though the Blue Devils will lose Newbold and Shilling – both multi-year starters at first and second base, respectively – to graduation, they will return a large portion of their lineup next season.
That won’t guarantee wins, however, Duncan clarified.
“Nothing’s easy. I think it came easy to them as freshmen,” said Duncan, referring to the sophomore-heavy group. “They thought, ‘Oh, this is the way it always is.’ We’re like, ‘No, that’s not the way it always is. You got it because you earned it.'”
Danville has lost twice in a row in the regional semifinals. Duncan said the goal next year will be to repeat as district champions – and take the next step, getting back to the regional final stage for the first time since 2019.
He acknowledged that it won’t be easy.
“We’re right there. This is where we got last year, too, and we need to get over that hump,” Duncan said. “So it’s just gonna take a little bit more effort, a little bit more pushing each other. And we are young. We’re gonna graduate two seniors (and) we only had two juniors in the starting lineup there.
“But they’re gonna have to be hungry. They’re gonna have to realize that this didn’t come easy. Our success was earned, not given. And nobody’s gonna give us anything. The target keeps getting bigger and bigger on the back of Danville, and they’re gonna have to work to make sure that no one hits that.”
