CAMBRIDGE — Garaway captured a second straight Division VI district softball title and fifth overall under ultra-successful head coach Dennis Koshmider, as the top-seeded Pirates defeated a determined Crooksville team, 4-0, on May 21 at Cambridge City Park.
The win vaults the Pirates (25-5), state runner-up in 2025, into another Sweet 16. They will play either Lucasville Valley or Leesburg Fairfield, who play on May 22 to determine the Southeast District representative, in the semifinals at 5 p.m. on May 27 at Pickerington Central.
Seventh-seeded Crooksville, in the East District for the second year after spending the entirety of its sporting history in the Southeast, finished a 12-15 season.
“I was really proud of our team today playing with such strong defense and really good pitching that kept us in the game,” Koshmider said afterward. “We just had to find ways to manufacture runs. Their pitcher (Elyse Baker) was really working the outside part of the plate and we were putting the ball in play but they were making defensive plays. I think they came in with that game plan, and that has definitely been a weakness for us to hit to the opposite side of the field. But our girls made adjustments, and we got a run here and a couple runs there and the last one was a nice one.”
Crooksville head coach Casey Vallee had nothing but praise for his Ceramics, who trailed just 1-0 entering the bottom of the fifth inning before Garaway added two runs in the fifth and an insurance tally in the sixth inning.
“I think we showed tonight that we are probably the second best team in this district,” Vallee said. “Unfortunately only one of us gets to go.”
Koshmider credited the Ceramics for holding his team’s high-powered offense down for much of six innings.
“But I love this kind of game, which was a great game on both sides of the field,” Koshmider said, while praising his team’s patience.
Koshmider said a goal all along was to focus on winning a district title, then letting things take care of themselves.
“We wanted to be district champions, because you can’t get anywhere else in the state until you win our district,” Koshmider said. “We knew that at the end of last season and so that’s been our goal. Our goal hasn’t been to win the state championship, it has been to win the district championship. Now we’ve done that and we can move on and see what comes next.”
Garaway broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third inning when Kyleigh LaCroix drew a walk, moved up on a Krista Miller single and came around to score on an overthrow at third base to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.
The Pirates tacked on two more runs, aided by two Crooksville errors in the bottom of the fifth inning. LaCroix had an RBI groundout and True Tango ripped an RBI single to center, scoring the other run.
Garaway added an insurance tally in the bottom of the sixth on a Krista Miller single to right.
Keaton Yoder added two singles for the Pirates; Crooksville’s six hits included a double and single from All-Ohio junior Dalena Rollison and singles from Paige Frame, Cam DeLong and Mylin Driggs.
The game featured some outstanding pitching on both sides, as Garaway’s standout freshman right hander Annabelle King worked the first five scoreless innings while striking out three and walking none. Junior standout Audrey Miller then entered the game in the sixth and tossed two hitless frames, which included setting the Ceramics down 1-2-3 in both innings.
“Of course, you’ve got to be your best out there with the mentality that it’s really just a game,” said King. “You’ve got to love it. You’ve got to love the stress, and you’ve got to love all the pressure. You’ve just got to be in the moment and really get it. I’m always like 110 percent in everything. I support my team because they really support me.”
Koshmider credited King for keeping a dangerous Ceramic offense off-balance. She induced a key groundout of Rollison, on a close play at first base, with the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the fifth with the game still 1-0.
It was King’s 16th win.
“She was good enough to go ahead and roll the whole game but we brought in a different look,” Koshmider said. “Audrey (Miller) with the speed (pitching) is just a great combination, and once Audrey was on they they weren’t able to keep up.
“We’re very fortunate,” Koshmider added. “We’re really blessed with pitching right now.”
Crooksville’s talented right-handed pitcher Elyse Baker, an All-Ohio pick who pitched Crooksville to a district final in 2025, pitched a complete game. She did not yield an earned run as Crooksville committed three errors, two on errant throws.
She allowed three earned runs in four postseason games as Crooksville defeated three teams with higher seeds by a combined score of 29-3 leading into the finals.
“Elyse was Elyse out there,” Vallee said. “They (the Pirates) are good and I thought we played right there with them. It came down to mistakes. We made a couple mistakes, but there’s no finger pointing on this team. This team is who they are. We could have folded in the middle of the season and took one another and said ‘let’s make something of it.’”
Crooksville bows out with a deceiving record against a strong schedule but returns a wealth of talent next spring.
“I’m losing three seniors and I know how these kids are,” Vallee said. “And they’ll be back.”
No. 2-ranked Garaway, winners of seven of its last eight, will now prepare for a regional semifinal with a team that Koshmider knows can win games in many ways.
“I’m just thankful for this group of girls,” Koshmider said. “They’ve done such a great job this season of stepping up when they needed to. We talked before the game that championship games are usually close games. Just get one run at a time and not get nervous, and they did exactly that.”
Added Vallee: “That (Garaway) lineup is stacked. They were state runner-ups last year and I wish them the best.”
GARAWAY 4, CROOKSVILLE 0
Crooksville 000 000 0 — 0 6 3
Garaway 000 000 0 — 4 7 0
Elyse Baker and Mylin Driggs. Annabelle King, Audrey Miller (6) and Kayla Miller. WP — Annabelle King (16-2). LP — Elyse Baker. 2B — Dalena Rollison (C). 3B — none. HR — none.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Garaway softball outlasts underdog Crooksville for East District gold