South Webster junior Makayla Raynard (5)

Ed Litteral | Daily Times

AKRON —The hope was that South Webster’s wind — number three to be exact— found itself somewhere.

But simply put, when the South Range Raiders reeled off five runs on six hits —on four Jaiden White pitches even —in the decisive fifth inning on Thursday night, there was unfortunately no more fuel in these Jeeps’ tanks.

As a result, the two-time Division III state softball runner-up (2016 and 2021) Raiders ended South Webster’s thrill ride — as South Range defeated the Jeeps 11-4 in the Division III state semifinals inside Akron’s historic Firestone Stadium.

The Jeeps — spearheaded by seniors Skylar Zimmerman, Ava Messer, Bre Potters, Bella Claxon and Ashlee Spence —finish their historic season at 25-4, having lost to only three teams with over 20 wins apiece.

The regional championship is their first all time in the sport —and matches the Division IV Region 15 title the volleyball squad captured in 2021.

South Webster exacted an epic and monumental measure of revenge when it upset Wheelersburg 4-3 for the regional championship —and the piggyback belief was that the Jeeps could definitely take down South Range too.

But the now 29-3 Raiders, which have appeared in the state tournament now four times including three of the past four, relied on experience and hitting prowess —touching up the sophomore South Webster hurler White for 19 hits.

Of the Raiders’ 11 runs, nine were earned —as only two second-stanza points putting South Range up 3-0 were of the unearned variety.

The Jeeps made two errors.

South Webster never led, but caught fire in the third frame for the 3-3 tie —combining a leadoff walk, a White RBI-single, the Raiders’ only error, Zimmerman hit by a pitch, and a two-out two-run double off the left-centerfield fence by Claxon.

But South Range exploded in the fifth for five on six —building leads as large as 8-3 and 9-4 in the sixth, before finally scoring two more in the seventh.

In all, the Raiders tallied eight of the game’s final nine runs — over the final three innings in fact — for the win.

A complete report on the Jeeps’ contest, and additional action photos, will appear in next week’s print editions of The Portsmouth Daily Times.

South Webster sophomore Addi Claxon (16)

Ed Litteral | Daily Times

Reach Paul Boggs at (740) 353-3101 ext. 1926, by email at [email protected], or on X @paulboggssports © 2024 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved