The state-ranked Madison softball squad saw their tournament journey come to a close at the hands of Defiance in the Division II Regional Semifinals at Tiffin, falling to the Bulldogs 9-5.

 

Sophomore pitcher Sloan Kiser was dealing from the circle early, allowing no Defiance hits through the first 11 batters she faced. The Bulldogs would eventually take a 1-0 edge in the third but the Lady Rams responded with a pair of fourth inning scores to hold a 2-1 advantage heading into the fifth where it all came unglued for Madison.

 

The first eight hitter Kiser faced in the fifth reached base in some fashion, ending her day with 4.1 IP allowing 6 runs on 6 hits with 7 walks, as Defiance scored five in the inning for a commanding 6-2 lead before Kiser was replaced by senior Mackenzie Mullins, who would allow three more runs in the final two innings.

 

Madison never quit though, as their senior leaders Morghan Russell, Egypt Murphy and Mullins produced RBI in the sixth and seventh to make it a four-score game, but the Bulldogs would close things out for a Regional title spot.

 

The Lady Rams finish up their season at 22-5 and will graduate 5 seniors from the District Championship team.