Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
It’s another year and another league title for the Northwood softball program.
The Rangers, led by senior pitcher Lea Wauford, have clinched the program’s fifth-consecutive Toledo Area Athletic Conference (TAAC) championship. They sit at 10-4 overall and 7-0 in their final year in the league.
Wauford, who will continue her softball and soccer careers at Terra State Community College in the fall, is 9-3 in the circle with a 2.52 ERA. She has struck out 135 batters and walked just eight.
She's been even better at the plate, hitting an astronomical .653 to go with 17 doubles and 33 RBIs, all team-best numbers.
The TAAC’s reigning player of the year recently shattered Northwood’s career strikeouts record, and head coach Jennifer Noonan said her senior righty is on pace to break the season record if the weather holds up.
Despite the individual accolades, Wauford is focused on the team.
"The season is going very well,” she said. “I feel like some people have doubted us because of the seniors we lost, but I think we've proven how good we are with how we're playing. I feel like we've come together as a team.
"Our main goal was to win the league. We just want to have another winning record."
Noonan said the team has marquee victories in a sweep over Emmanuel Christian, and they are coming off a win over Delta.
“Toledo Christian was a concern,” she said. “That’s somebody we worked hard to beat.”
Senior shortstop Shealyn Nestor (.481, eight doubles, one triple, one home run, 21 RBIs) will be playing next year at Terra State with Wauford.
Catcher Kadience Karmol is hitting .462 with three doubles and 13 RBIs, while third baseman/outfielder Eden Schoch is batting .342 with one double, two triples, one home run and seven RBIs. Pitcher/outfielder Shelby Mercer has two doubles and 16 RBIs while hitting .341.
Northwood has had to overcome injuries to senior first baseman Lizzie Caspar, who tore her ACL in the fourth game of the season, and Schoch, who has sustained an injury to her hand.
"We're down to three seniors that can play," Noonan said.
The rest of the team consists of 2B/P Camryn Haas, C/3B Averey Perlacky, 2B/LF Emma Kirkpatrick, Util./P Madison Huenefeld, Alex Sauseda, RF Annabelle LaGrange and Celina Gomez.
"Kadience is playing extremely well behind the plate,” Wauford said. “She does much better than she thinks she does (offensively). Shealyn hits very, very well. I wouldn't want anyone else playing shortstop behind me. I know she can make any play.
Camryn Haas, our freshman, is staying very calm in a very stressful situation. She does a very good job at second base. Shelby Mercer, who moved from the outfield to third base, which can be stressful, but she's pulling her weight, and she's also doing very well hitting."
Northwood is fortunate to still have the services of Wauford, who saw her family move into the Gibsonburg school district recently, where her sister Alyvia is a freshman for the Golden Bears softball team. Lea, though, decided to stay at Northwood as she nears the end of her prep career.
"I enjoyed the atmosphere, I grew up here,” she said. “I'm comfortable playing with my teammates. I'm playing well, and it helps keep my game going. "I'm very happy with my decision to stay at Northwood."
Wauford is also excited for the challenge that college will present.
"I was going for softball, but because I had a good last two seasons of soccer, I decided to play it (also) in college," Wauford said. "I'm extremely excited to play softball because we're supposed to have a really good class coming in."
Next season, the Rangers sans Wauford will join the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division. The new league will provide some stability that the TAAC doesn't with the likes of Gibsonburg, Woodmore and Margaretta.
"Moving to the SBC will give us more league games to play and more competition, which will strengthen our program," Noonan said. "We will be reuniting with former TAAC teams in Tiffin Calvert, Danbury and Gibsonburg, and we have had great experiences competing with them in the past."
With the state tournament now having seven divisions, Noonan is also excited to see how that plays out as the Rangers compete in Division VI.
"I'm pretty excited,” she said. “It seems like we're more competitive with how they've (changed) everything. That's our focus, trying to do well in the tournament after achieving our first goal."
