GALION — When the public address announcer at Galion’s Heise Park called for Lexington softball’s senior captains to come up and accept the 2025 Division IV district championship trophy, he could have left off the ‘s’.
Lady Lex’s lone senior, Makaree Chapman, stepped forward, embraced a second consecutive district title and hoisted it high above her head after Lexington defeated the Clear Fork Colts 6-0 on Friday for its third district title in four years. Chapman tossed a one-hit, complete-game shutout and also picked up two hits, two RBIs and a home run at the plate to pace her team to victory.
“It is surreal, for sure,” Chapman said. “Being the only senior, I am just taking it all in right now. I love playing beside these girls because they are like my sisters. I can’t wait to keep winning with them.”
Clear Fork threatened in the top of the first inning when Mel Blubaugh drew a leadoff walk, stole second and third but never crossed the plate as Chapman proceeded to strike out the next three batters as part of a seven-K game.
Lexington stopped Clear Fork’s momentum and took it right back in the home half of the first with three runs highlighted by Chapman’s one-out double to plate a run before she scored on an error a batter later. Camryn McGuire had an RBI single to cap off the big inning.
“We started the game exactly how we wanted,” Clear Fork coach Adam Brokaw said. “We got Mel (Blubaugh) on; she stole second and third, but we just couldn’t produce a run. If we score there, I think it’s a different game. They came up, got a bloop hit, reached on an error and then Chapman had a good hit and the next thing you know, it’s 3-0. Trying to play catch up against a good team is tough to do.”
And despite an early 3-0 lead, Lady Lex never relaxed.
“The game plan never changes because I have seen Clear Fork come back from an 11-2 deficit before,” Lexington coach Todd Galownia said. “So, I knew we had to keep making plays when they had opportunities to have a big inning. The first inning changed the tone because we stopped them from scoring with our defense and put up runs in our half.”
And Chapman never changed her style in the circle with the comfortable lead.
“It’s always good to have that insurance, but the plan is always to go pedal to the metal no matter what,” Chapman said. “We never want to lighten it up, especially against a team like Clear Fork and its ability to come back. That is a great team that is never going to shut down, so my plan was to always stick to my plan no matter the score because it could flip at any moment.”
It never did. The two teams went scoreless over the next four innings before Lady Lex broke through with three insurance runs in the sixth when Chapman belted a solo home run before freshman Addy Williams added a two-run homer. She and Chapman finished with two hits and two RBIs apiece while McGuire added a hit and an RBI and Quinn Patrick, who celebrated her 16th birthday with a district championship, and Kylie Thornton had one hit apiece.
Chapman then slammed the door in the seventh with a pair of strikeouts and a groundout to cap off a 119-pitch outing with one of the biggest wins of her career.
“It is definitely not old because we knew these are never just given,” Chapman said. “It is always special, especially with this year being a completely different team than last season. It feels so great to celebrate with my teammates.”
As the only senior, Chapman entered the year with a lot of pressure to carry on the standard set before her. In 2022, Lexington won its first district title since 2011 and advanced to its first regional championship since 2006. In the last four seasons, Lex has three district titles and two trips to the Elite 8. But Chapman didn’t do it alone.
“She knows her teammates have her back,” Galownia said. “Every day we are together, we talk about having each other’s backs when we are going through hard times. These 15 kids are the only ones out there doing this. No one is going to help them out. They had to do it for each other and they believed they could.”
It helped to have a 240-strikeout pitcher, though.
“She is a great left-handed pitcher who attacks the outside corner and her ball ends up moving back in to catch the outside part of the plate,” Brokaw said. “She is so good because she gets ahead in the count and then makes you chase the pitches she wants you to swing at. She is special.”
Addy Schlosser had the lone hit for Clear Fork (16-11). The Colts saw Blubaugh and Katrina Rogers play their final game in a Clear Fork uniform. Blubaugh is a three-sport All-Ohioan, earning honors as a sophomore in softball. Rogers is a four-year letterwinner.
“Katrina came on strong in the second half of the year, and Mel has been a stud in this lineup for a very long time,” Brokaw said. “It is good that we are only losing two seniors, but those two seniors are crucial for our success and are leaving huge shoes to fill. It won’t be easy.”
Lexington (22-3) moves on to the regional semifinals on Wednesday at a site yet to be determined against the winner of Milbury Lake and Clyde.
But, before they get there, they will enjoy the district title.
“Every team is different,” Galownia said. “Before the season started, everyone was telling me how much we lost from last year’s team, and we weren’t going to be any good, even though we were the defending district champions. Everyone wrote us off from the get-go. We decided to battle every single day to prove we were better than what everyone things. We proved it tonight.”
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