The game of the year in the Toledo-area sports for 2023 — high school, college, or pro — is technically being recognized as a trio of games between national softball powers Anthony Wayne and Springfield.
More specifically, it gets the top nod because these three elite-level contests between nationally ranked teams elevated this rivalry into the area’s absolute best in any sport.
“There’s a high level of talent on both teams, and the history with the coaching staffs is also something special,” Anthony Wayne coach Ron Myers said. “The players on both teams are working year round to take their game to the next level.”
The 2023 Anthony Wayne lineup included eight players who have either already joined current college programs, or have signed or committed to play in college, most at the Division I level. The most high-profile of these are current senior Kat Meyers, who has committed to perennial NCAA power Michigan, twin sister Ally Meyers (Ohio U.), and junior Molly Conner (Notre Dame).
Springfield, which was an underclassmen-dominated team in 2023, sent its three-year full-time starting pitcher, Mady Yackee, a two-time first team All-Ohioan, on to play D-I softball at the University of Toledo.
Current senior Ava Littin will play at Walsh University, and other Blue Devils expected to play in college include current juniors Camryn Eckhart (catcher), Camryn Hall (shortstop), Hannah Schlachter and Kenya Crowley (outfielders).
The most recent battle in this series came May 26 at Clyde High School, where Anthony Wayne took a 7-3 victory over the Devils in a Division I regional final.
Senior All-Ohio pitcher-outfielder Brooklyn Patchen (now at Creighton University) and junior catcher Trinity Nowicki (Kennesaw State signee) each homered in the win, which sent AW (ranked No. 22 in the national poll) to the state final four for the second time in three years.
That Springfield regional-final loss ended what had been a perfect season for the 28-1 Blue Devils of coach Rob Gwozdz, whose team was also ranked No. 4 in the nation at the time. Two of the 28 wins had come in NLL play against the Generals — 5-4 at Springfield on April 19, and 4-3 at AW on May 8.
Anthony Wayne finished No. 15 in the national rankings, while Springfield finished at No. 18.
Game 1: Springfield 5, No. 17 Anthony Wayne 4
In the first of those NLL matchups, Anthony Wayne (No. 17 national ranking at the time) took control early, and Springfield rallied from an early 4-0 deficit with a five-run uprising in the bottom of the fourth inning, with the key blow in the comeback being sophomore left fielder Kenya Crowley’s game-tying three-run homer.
Yackee got the final six outs.
“I felt like every single batter was a challenge,” Yackee said, “and when you’re pitching it’s more stressful because everything rides on how you pitch.”
Springfield entered the national poll the next week at No. 12.
Game 2: No. 12 Springfield 4, No. 17 Anthony Wayne 3
Anthony Wayne experienced similar misfortune in the May 8 league test at home after taking a 3-0 lead to the top of the sixth inning. At that point, Springfield had just one hit.
Devils sophomore right fielder Hannah Schlachter greeted Patchen (in relief) with what proved to be a game-winning grand slam.
Game 3: No. 22 Anthony Wayne 7, No. 4 Springfield 3
But the Generals had the final say in the rivalry for 2023, taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning of the regional final, falling behind 3-2 in the second, and then going up for good in the third on Patchen’s three-run homer.
“One of the hardest losses in my coaching career was last year,” Gwozdz said. “We were hoping, especially with Mady Yackee on the mound, she’d get back to the state final four one more time. But, they got the job done.”
AW added two insurance runs in the fifth, one on Nowicki’s solo homer.
“What was special was being able to play at that high level in high school, because not a lot of teams see that,” Patchen said. “It’s nice to play that kind of competition because we know it’s such a big game for our town.”
The Generals went on to reach the D-I state championship game the following week before falling to Austintown Fitch, 6-1, to finish 28-5 overall (11-3 NLL). They had beaten Pataskala Watkins Memorial 2-1 in the state semifinal at Akron’s Firestone Stadium.
If that 2023 pattern in the rivalry seemed familiar, it was because one year earlier it was Springfield which had done the same thing to AW. In 2022, following NLL wins by the Generals over the Blue Devils, Springfield rallied from behind to take a 5-4 win over unbeaten AW in a D-I regional semifinal.
In 2021, Springfield beat Anthony Wayne on back-to-back days in league play, only to be eliminated by the Generals in a 4-3 loss in the regional semifinals.
“When you break it down — whether it’s the last three years or the last 20 years — we just both bring out the best in each other,” Gwozdz said. “That’s really what it’s all about.”
First Published December 30, 2023, 4:30 p.m.
