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ATHENS — Is anybody really surprised at this point?
With OHSAA State Final Four appearances in over half of her seasons as the head coach of the Wheelersburg Pirates' softball program, the words of Wheelersburg softball, Firestone Stadium, and the OHSAA State Final Four have become essentially synonymous in Teresa Ruby's 12 seasons as the head coach of the Lady Pirates.
However, Saturday afternoon's OHSAA Division V, Region 19 Championship Game, even by the lofty standards that Wheelersburg has set in many of the sports that it offers, was truly incredible.
So incredible, that it enters a category that arguably the 2012 and 2013 OHSAA Division III State Championship Games in baseball and the 2017 OHSAA Division V State Championship Game in football reaches in Pirate Country.
Ahead for much of the game against the Tuscarawas Valley Trojans' softball program, Wheelersburg took a 3-0 lead into the sixth inning and still led by a 3-2 margin needing just three outs to head back to the OHSAA State Final Four.
But always a tough out with rich traditions in many sports themselves, Tusky Valley took the lead on a two-out single by Hallee Borell, grabbing a 4-3 lead and sending Wheelersburg to the rope with the Lady Pirates now needing a run to keep the game going.
From there, no Hollywood script could've drawn up what Wheelersburg was able to do.
With one out in the seventh inning, Ava Estep's baserunning allowed the latter to score on a hard-hit RBI single by Mylee Jo Gleim, sending the game to extra innings at four apiece.
Then, following an RBI double by Borell and an RBI single by Delaney Erickson that again had Wheelersburg back down to its final three outs but down two runs (6-4) instead of one heading into the bottom of the ninth, Jalynn Drake and Makenzie Mullens provided the cataclysmic heroics.
Drake's one-out, two-RBI double to deep right field brought in Estep and Layna Howard as the game-tying runs, while Mullens, who came up right behind Drake, shot an RBI double to left center field for the game-winning run.
The comeback of truly epic proportions continued one of, if not the, greatest sports dynasty in OHSAA Southeast District history, as Wheelersburg advanced to its seventh OHSAA State Final Four in 12 years under Teresa Ruby's guidance with its 7-6 come-from-behind win over Tusky Valley.
Layna Howard, a sophomore and starter at second base for Wheelersburg, understands the Lady Pirates' softball tradition as well as anybody. Howard has been at Akron numerous times as a fan while watching her older sisters claim, and have starring roles in, Wheelersburg hoisting a state championship at Firestone Stadium.
Mainly used as a pinch runner last season in the run to the 2025 OHSAA Division V State Championship, Howard now gets the opportunity to live out the entire experience in Akron.
The sophomore went 2-for-5 with a critical two-run, two RBI double in the bottom of the fifth inning that helped give Wheelersburg a 3-0 lead initially, and made a terrific catch in the third inning by robbing Tusky Valley's Emma Matthews of a base hit by leaping high in the air to make a great catch.
"It's great," Howard said. "I've loved the opportunity to follow in my sisters' footsteps and help out my team (on Saturday). I knew that if I struggled to perform well during an at-bat or a situation, the next person behind me would. I was just so happy to help everyone out."
Drake, who drove in the game-tying runs and scored the winning run off of Mullens bingo shot to left center, has enjoyed an excellent career.
Having already been a part of two OHSAA Division V State Championship teams, Drake, a Shawnee State softball signee, overcame injury that forced her to miss much of the middle third of her final season of softball to play two parts to the most important plays in Wheelersburg softball's 2026 season to date.
"This is probably the best feeling that I could imagine, other than winning the state title in 2023 and 2025," Drake said. "We honestly do this for our family, our crowd and community, and I can't imagine doing anything else but this."
Early on, Wheelersburg senior outfielder Ava Estep and Wheelersburg junior Emmee Eaton provided much of the momentum.
Eaton got herself out of an early jam, holding two Tuscarawas Valley runners in scoring position by nabbing a pair of strikeouts as the Lady Pirates kept the game scoreless after the opening frame.
The Lady Trojans then put just one baserunner on over the following four innings of work, with that lone baserunner being an intentional walk to Tuscarawas Valley junior and Ohio State commit Brennen Reichman.
"We work year-round on all different types of situations, and I believe we were just ready," Howard said. "We were ready for anything to come. We were going to back Emmee up, no matter what that took."
Facing Reichman — who entered Saturday's contest 18-1 in the circle with an ERA well under 0.50 to go along with her .489 batting average, 13 home runs and 25 extra base hits at the plate — Wheelersburg was never rattled.
If anything, the Tusky Valley defense proved to be.
That's because Estep, Wheelersburg's leadoff batter, proved to be a thorn in the Lady Trojans' side all game long.
Having already reached base via a single in the bottom half of the opening inning, Estep created the game's opening run as the senior singled on a 2-1 count and moved to second base on a groundout.
With two gone in the inning, Estep played a game cat-and-mouse on the basepaths with the Tusky Valley defense, and, as the mouse, won — forcing an errant throw at third base that No. 4 sprinted home standing up on.
"We're prepared," Drake said. "We've worked all season for this. Our schedule has been incredibly hard, and we took some tough losses at the beginning of the season but those only made us better and we worked through it."
Make it Wheelersburg 1, Tusky Valley 0 after three innings gone.
The game stayed at that margin until the bottom of the fifth inning, when the Lady Pirates added on.
With one out, nine-hole hitter Mati Jennings shot a single to left field to turn the lineup over, and Estep reached on the opening pitch of her at bat, putting runners on first and second for Howard.
The latest in a long line of a family tree to come up big for the Lady Pirates, just as older sisters Faith and AndiJo had once done as pitchers and hitters for Wheelersburg, Layna drove a two-run double to right field with one out, scoring both Jennings and Estep.
The lead moved to Wheelersburg 3, Tusky Valley 0 after five innings complete.
"I was just looking for something to hit hard," Howard said. "I knew that I had baserunners on, and that I could drive them in if I found a gap."
"I can't say enough about my team right now," Drake said. "I trust them wholeheartedly. Every single one of these girls had a role in this game. They did great and I trust and love all of them."
A stout program in every sense, Tusky Valley came right back with a vengeance in the latter stages.
A hard-hit double by JJ Wallace with one out was followed by an intentional walk to Reichman, and both Borell and Calli Stutz followed with one-out RBI singles in the sixth, cutting Wheelersburg's lead to a 3-2 margin.
Sending seven batters to the plate in the sixth, the frame helped create an opportunity to turn the lineup over in the seventh.
And that's exactly what the Lady Trojans did.
Leadoff hitter Morgan Wright reached on a leadoff single, and with one out, Elliott Wallick did the same.
With Reichman set to be due back up after a pop out by Wallace, the junior was intentionally walked again.
But Borell made Wheelersburg pay — and with just one out to work with, the catcher launched a hit that landed right on the right field line to stay fair, driving in both Wright and Wallick as the Lady Trojans took a 4-3 lead.
Wheelersburg was now down to its final three outs. They trailed 4-3 entering the bottom of the seventh.
But with the top of its order due up in the seventh, Estep helped get the engine running for the Lady Pirates again.
Jumping all over the first pitch she saw in the seventh, Estep's single to right put Wheelersburg in business, and after a single by Gleim that got past Tusky Valley shortstop Aleah Orvisky, Estep again won the battle on the basepaths by sliding in safe at home plate, tying the game at four apiece.
It was off to extra innings.
"It's great having coaches who push us and make us better every single day," Howard said. "We may do things that seem uncomfortable in practice, but they are for our own good and really help us to grow."
Neither team scored in the eighth, which set up the frantic ninth stanza.
With two gone in the top of the ninth, Reichman was again intentionally walked, setting up Borell's at-bat. The catcher responded with her third hit in her fifth at-bat of the day, shooting a ball to deep right field to score Reichman standing up and give the Lady Trojans the point once again.
Then, following a walk, Erickson stepped up, and was able to score Borell with a RBI base hit.
Wheelersburg again trailed, but this time, by a 6-4 count. Again, they had three outs to score two.
But the Lady Pirates did one better.
Estep and Howard, who combined to go 6-for-10 with a double, two RBI and five runs scored on the day, each reached with back-to-back singles, with the pair needing to see just three pitches combined before reaching base.
And while a hard-hit softball by Mylee Jo Gleim would be caught out in center field, Jalynn Drake's shot to the outfield wouldn't be.
Up in arguably the most important at-bat of her entire career at Wheelersburg, Drake worked the count to her advantage, and on a 3-1 pitch, turned on a ball that she drove deep in the right field corner.
There was no chance to throw out either Estep or Howard.
Wheelersburg 6, Tusky Valley 6.
One out in the ninth.
"I wasn't looking for a specific pitch or anything," Drake said. "I just knew that I needed to do my job as the four-hole hitter and drive in the runners who worked hard to get on base in front of me in the first place."
But Drake's hit just set the stage for what was to come.
With Reichman fading, Makenzie Mullens saw the first two pitches miss out of the strike zone, then jumped on a ball in it and launched a Reichman pitch to deep left center field.
By the time the ball was picked up near the track in left center field, Drake was already halfway home, and much of the Wheelersburg contingent was already out ready to greet both Drake and Mullens in the thrilling triumph.
"It's really surreal," Howard said. "I have watched this for so long with my sisters, and then getting to actually be a part of that is really special. I just have to give the glory to God on that. He helped me through all of these situations and kept my nerves down."
With the win, Wheelersburg (22-5) advanced to the OHSAA State Final Four for the fifth time in six seasons. The Lady Pirates, who also advanced to that stage in 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025, will play Miami East on Saturday, June 6 at 10 a.m., with the winner playing either Baltimore Liberty Union or Canfield South Range for all the marbles at 1:30 pm. on Sunday, June 7.
"It's so exciting," Howard said. "I went up there last year as a pinch runner, but being to actually be out on the field and help my team in an extra manner is so exciting. We've worked on this all year. For us to finally get there and reach a goal of ours, it's great."
"It means everything to do this for our coaching staff," Drake said. "We know that they love us wholeheartedly as our daughters, and they work hard every single day preparing us and themselves. We do a lot of stuff to prepare for these games. I can't even tell you how much practice and scouting we do to learn each team and what we need to do ourselves. We love our coaches and they love us. We just do all we can for them."
Continue reading...
With OHSAA State Final Four appearances in over half of her seasons as the head coach of the Wheelersburg Pirates' softball program, the words of Wheelersburg softball, Firestone Stadium, and the OHSAA State Final Four have become essentially synonymous in Teresa Ruby's 12 seasons as the head coach of the Lady Pirates.
However, Saturday afternoon's OHSAA Division V, Region 19 Championship Game, even by the lofty standards that Wheelersburg has set in many of the sports that it offers, was truly incredible.
So incredible, that it enters a category that arguably the 2012 and 2013 OHSAA Division III State Championship Games in baseball and the 2017 OHSAA Division V State Championship Game in football reaches in Pirate Country.
Ahead for much of the game against the Tuscarawas Valley Trojans' softball program, Wheelersburg took a 3-0 lead into the sixth inning and still led by a 3-2 margin needing just three outs to head back to the OHSAA State Final Four.
But always a tough out with rich traditions in many sports themselves, Tusky Valley took the lead on a two-out single by Hallee Borell, grabbing a 4-3 lead and sending Wheelersburg to the rope with the Lady Pirates now needing a run to keep the game going.
From there, no Hollywood script could've drawn up what Wheelersburg was able to do.
With one out in the seventh inning, Ava Estep's baserunning allowed the latter to score on a hard-hit RBI single by Mylee Jo Gleim, sending the game to extra innings at four apiece.
Then, following an RBI double by Borell and an RBI single by Delaney Erickson that again had Wheelersburg back down to its final three outs but down two runs (6-4) instead of one heading into the bottom of the ninth, Jalynn Drake and Makenzie Mullens provided the cataclysmic heroics.
Drake's one-out, two-RBI double to deep right field brought in Estep and Layna Howard as the game-tying runs, while Mullens, who came up right behind Drake, shot an RBI double to left center field for the game-winning run.
The comeback of truly epic proportions continued one of, if not the, greatest sports dynasty in OHSAA Southeast District history, as Wheelersburg advanced to its seventh OHSAA State Final Four in 12 years under Teresa Ruby's guidance with its 7-6 come-from-behind win over Tusky Valley.
Layna Howard, a sophomore and starter at second base for Wheelersburg, understands the Lady Pirates' softball tradition as well as anybody. Howard has been at Akron numerous times as a fan while watching her older sisters claim, and have starring roles in, Wheelersburg hoisting a state championship at Firestone Stadium.
Mainly used as a pinch runner last season in the run to the 2025 OHSAA Division V State Championship, Howard now gets the opportunity to live out the entire experience in Akron.
The sophomore went 2-for-5 with a critical two-run, two RBI double in the bottom of the fifth inning that helped give Wheelersburg a 3-0 lead initially, and made a terrific catch in the third inning by robbing Tusky Valley's Emma Matthews of a base hit by leaping high in the air to make a great catch.
"It's great," Howard said. "I've loved the opportunity to follow in my sisters' footsteps and help out my team (on Saturday). I knew that if I struggled to perform well during an at-bat or a situation, the next person behind me would. I was just so happy to help everyone out."
Drake, who drove in the game-tying runs and scored the winning run off of Mullens bingo shot to left center, has enjoyed an excellent career.
Having already been a part of two OHSAA Division V State Championship teams, Drake, a Shawnee State softball signee, overcame injury that forced her to miss much of the middle third of her final season of softball to play two parts to the most important plays in Wheelersburg softball's 2026 season to date.
"This is probably the best feeling that I could imagine, other than winning the state title in 2023 and 2025," Drake said. "We honestly do this for our family, our crowd and community, and I can't imagine doing anything else but this."
Early on, Wheelersburg senior outfielder Ava Estep and Wheelersburg junior Emmee Eaton provided much of the momentum.
Eaton got herself out of an early jam, holding two Tuscarawas Valley runners in scoring position by nabbing a pair of strikeouts as the Lady Pirates kept the game scoreless after the opening frame.
The Lady Trojans then put just one baserunner on over the following four innings of work, with that lone baserunner being an intentional walk to Tuscarawas Valley junior and Ohio State commit Brennen Reichman.
"We work year-round on all different types of situations, and I believe we were just ready," Howard said. "We were ready for anything to come. We were going to back Emmee up, no matter what that took."
Facing Reichman — who entered Saturday's contest 18-1 in the circle with an ERA well under 0.50 to go along with her .489 batting average, 13 home runs and 25 extra base hits at the plate — Wheelersburg was never rattled.
If anything, the Tusky Valley defense proved to be.
That's because Estep, Wheelersburg's leadoff batter, proved to be a thorn in the Lady Trojans' side all game long.
Having already reached base via a single in the bottom half of the opening inning, Estep created the game's opening run as the senior singled on a 2-1 count and moved to second base on a groundout.
With two gone in the inning, Estep played a game cat-and-mouse on the basepaths with the Tusky Valley defense, and, as the mouse, won — forcing an errant throw at third base that No. 4 sprinted home standing up on.
"We're prepared," Drake said. "We've worked all season for this. Our schedule has been incredibly hard, and we took some tough losses at the beginning of the season but those only made us better and we worked through it."
Make it Wheelersburg 1, Tusky Valley 0 after three innings gone.
The game stayed at that margin until the bottom of the fifth inning, when the Lady Pirates added on.
With one out, nine-hole hitter Mati Jennings shot a single to left field to turn the lineup over, and Estep reached on the opening pitch of her at bat, putting runners on first and second for Howard.
The latest in a long line of a family tree to come up big for the Lady Pirates, just as older sisters Faith and AndiJo had once done as pitchers and hitters for Wheelersburg, Layna drove a two-run double to right field with one out, scoring both Jennings and Estep.
The lead moved to Wheelersburg 3, Tusky Valley 0 after five innings complete.
"I was just looking for something to hit hard," Howard said. "I knew that I had baserunners on, and that I could drive them in if I found a gap."
"I can't say enough about my team right now," Drake said. "I trust them wholeheartedly. Every single one of these girls had a role in this game. They did great and I trust and love all of them."
A stout program in every sense, Tusky Valley came right back with a vengeance in the latter stages.
A hard-hit double by JJ Wallace with one out was followed by an intentional walk to Reichman, and both Borell and Calli Stutz followed with one-out RBI singles in the sixth, cutting Wheelersburg's lead to a 3-2 margin.
Sending seven batters to the plate in the sixth, the frame helped create an opportunity to turn the lineup over in the seventh.
And that's exactly what the Lady Trojans did.
Leadoff hitter Morgan Wright reached on a leadoff single, and with one out, Elliott Wallick did the same.
With Reichman set to be due back up after a pop out by Wallace, the junior was intentionally walked again.
But Borell made Wheelersburg pay — and with just one out to work with, the catcher launched a hit that landed right on the right field line to stay fair, driving in both Wright and Wallick as the Lady Trojans took a 4-3 lead.
Wheelersburg was now down to its final three outs. They trailed 4-3 entering the bottom of the seventh.
But with the top of its order due up in the seventh, Estep helped get the engine running for the Lady Pirates again.
Jumping all over the first pitch she saw in the seventh, Estep's single to right put Wheelersburg in business, and after a single by Gleim that got past Tusky Valley shortstop Aleah Orvisky, Estep again won the battle on the basepaths by sliding in safe at home plate, tying the game at four apiece.
It was off to extra innings.
"It's great having coaches who push us and make us better every single day," Howard said. "We may do things that seem uncomfortable in practice, but they are for our own good and really help us to grow."
Neither team scored in the eighth, which set up the frantic ninth stanza.
With two gone in the top of the ninth, Reichman was again intentionally walked, setting up Borell's at-bat. The catcher responded with her third hit in her fifth at-bat of the day, shooting a ball to deep right field to score Reichman standing up and give the Lady Trojans the point once again.
Then, following a walk, Erickson stepped up, and was able to score Borell with a RBI base hit.
Wheelersburg again trailed, but this time, by a 6-4 count. Again, they had three outs to score two.
But the Lady Pirates did one better.
Estep and Howard, who combined to go 6-for-10 with a double, two RBI and five runs scored on the day, each reached with back-to-back singles, with the pair needing to see just three pitches combined before reaching base.
And while a hard-hit softball by Mylee Jo Gleim would be caught out in center field, Jalynn Drake's shot to the outfield wouldn't be.
Up in arguably the most important at-bat of her entire career at Wheelersburg, Drake worked the count to her advantage, and on a 3-1 pitch, turned on a ball that she drove deep in the right field corner.
There was no chance to throw out either Estep or Howard.
Wheelersburg 6, Tusky Valley 6.
One out in the ninth.
"I wasn't looking for a specific pitch or anything," Drake said. "I just knew that I needed to do my job as the four-hole hitter and drive in the runners who worked hard to get on base in front of me in the first place."
But Drake's hit just set the stage for what was to come.
With Reichman fading, Makenzie Mullens saw the first two pitches miss out of the strike zone, then jumped on a ball in it and launched a Reichman pitch to deep left center field.
By the time the ball was picked up near the track in left center field, Drake was already halfway home, and much of the Wheelersburg contingent was already out ready to greet both Drake and Mullens in the thrilling triumph.
"It's really surreal," Howard said. "I have watched this for so long with my sisters, and then getting to actually be a part of that is really special. I just have to give the glory to God on that. He helped me through all of these situations and kept my nerves down."
With the win, Wheelersburg (22-5) advanced to the OHSAA State Final Four for the fifth time in six seasons. The Lady Pirates, who also advanced to that stage in 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025, will play Miami East on Saturday, June 6 at 10 a.m., with the winner playing either Baltimore Liberty Union or Canfield South Range for all the marbles at 1:30 pm. on Sunday, June 7.
"It's so exciting," Howard said. "I went up there last year as a pinch runner, but being to actually be out on the field and help my team in an extra manner is so exciting. We've worked on this all year. For us to finally get there and reach a goal of ours, it's great."
"It means everything to do this for our coaching staff," Drake said. "We know that they love us wholeheartedly as our daughters, and they work hard every single day preparing us and themselves. We do a lot of stuff to prepare for these games. I can't even tell you how much practice and scouting we do to learn each team and what we need to do ourselves. We love our coaches and they love us. We just do all we can for them."
Continue reading...
