Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
JACKSON — Montanna Leeth’s senior year has seen many downs and few ups.
Leeth has been forced to recover from a major injury, which kept her sidelined for a good bit. But she’s still managed to contribute with her bat.
That bat delivered the biggest hit of Waverly’s season — and her career — on Wednesday.
Down 5-4 with a runner on base and two outs in the top of the seventh inning, the senior took a 1-1 pitch and sent a two-run bomb screaming over the left field fence, propelling the Tigers to a stunning 6-5 win over Jackson in a Division II sectional final.
“If I didn’t like the pitch, I wasn’t going to swing at it. The first two pitches went by and I wasn’t feeling them, so I waited for one I did,” Leeth said. “Even the pitch that I hit, I wasn’t going to swing since it wasn’t what I wanted, but I swung anyway. As soon as I hit it, I just heard the crowd go crazy. I’ve never felt more relief as I did rounding the bases and seeing my team waiting for me at home. It’s easily the best night of my softball career.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
The victory marks Waverly’s first sectional title since 2019.
“This means everything. For me, as a senior, to be able to rely on my young girls is such an unbelievable and amazing feeling,” Waverly’s Faith Thornsberry said. “We’ve been through a lot as a team, and to win a sectional for the first time in my high school career with this team and move on to [the district tournament] is so exciting.”
Though Leeth’s bomb is what will be mostly remembered from the night, she had much-needed help getting to that moment from Ava Robertson, who wasted no time getting the Tigers started.
With two outs in the first inning, Robertson took the first pitch she saw and blasted it over the center field fence to put the Tigers ahead, 1-0.
“I saw that it was a rise ball coming and I practice hitting those all the time. I tell the girls to hit the top of the ball when you see it coming,” Robertson said. “I knew I had to start off the game with some energy and give us momentum, so I gave it a ride.”
Jackson (16-7) responded in the bottom half, though.
Lauren Carper stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and delivered a two-run single into center field, giving the Ironladies a 2-1 lead.
Jackson’s Serenity Taylor then began to cruise in the circle, striking out the side in the second and getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth.
She got extra run support in the bottom of the fourth when Maddie Wright notched an RBI single into center field, extending the lead to 3-1.
Waverly battled back in the top of the fifth.
After a pair of base hits and an intentional walk loaded the bases, Leeth found a gap in right-center field for a two-run single, tying the game at 3-3.
However, Jackson had an immediate answer. Following a two-out fielding error, Lauryn Walburn smoked a two-run single through the left side to put her team back ahead, 5-3.
In that moment, it felt like a death blow, but Waverly had other ideas.
Following a scoreless sixth, the outcome came down to the final at-bat for the Tigers. With a runner on and two outs, Robertson thought she had drawn a walk, but it turned out to be a full count instead.
“I knew there was a lot of pressure on me at that moment. It was either get a hit or the season might be over,” Robertson said. “I thought I walked, but I didn’t and [Waverly coach Scott] Hayes took a second, which I’m glad he did since it allowed me to calm down and regroup. I knew I had to crank the ball somehow.”
She stepped back into the box and delivered an RBI single into right field, cutting the lead to 5-4. That set the stage for Leeth to play the hero role, putting the Tigers ahead before Lexi Smith closed the door in the bottom half for the win.
“That’s a storybook type of ending, stuff you can only dream off and she deserved to have that moment. I couldn’t be more happy and proud of her,” Hayes said. “She tore her labrum in the offseason and we didn’t know if she was going to play at all since she can’t throw. She missed the first 10 games until she was cleared to at least swing a bat, and man, what a perfect moment for her with everything she’s dealt with.”
Leeth finished 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs, while Robertson went 2-for-2 with a home run and two RBIs. Smith went the distance in the circle, allowing just one earned run and striking out 10 batters.
For Jackson, Taylor suffered the loss while striking out 15 hitters. Walburn finished 1-for-3 with two RBIs, and Carper also went 1-for-3 with two RBIs.
Waverly will play in a Division II district semifinal at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday at Ohio University against Logan Elm, who defeated McClain to advance.
“We’ve had some big wins before, and this is definitely in the top five for me. This group is so young and I’m not sure we fully believed that something like this was possible,” Hayes said. “Either we’ve run-ruled teams or we’ve been the one getting run-ruled throughout the season. We haven’t had moments to test our grit and see what we’re made of, and I’ve always known the girls have it in them but they needed to see it for themselves. And now, getting to play in districts is going to be really special.”
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