Facing visiting Magnolia in the Region 1, Section 1 championship on Ben’s Field at the J.B. Chambers I-470 Sports Complex, Davidson’s young Maroon Knights overcame an error-filled fourth inning to bag their first come-from-behind win of the season, 5-3, and take home a trophy in the process.

“It feels real good, especially after the season we had last year,” Davidson said. “We’ve got a bunch of young kids and I’m just proud of them, they did a great job. This is the first game this year we actually had to come back and win. I’m glad that they stuck with it and kept playing hard.”

The Knights trailed 3-2 entering the later stages of the game, but Jocelyn Shaw hit a game-tying double in the bottom of the fifth and Josie Frizzell hit a ball hard that was dropped by Magnolia’s center fielder and resulted in two runs in the bottom of the sixth for the 5-3 win.

“It’s only starting to scratch the surface,” Davidson said of his team’s potential. “The more reps these girls get and the more comfortable they get with play, we’re going to be really good for the next few years.”

Central could not have scripted a better start to Wednesday’s game. Jensen Rine and Frizzell led off the bottom of the first with back-to-back hits and both came around to score on a single up the middle by Taylor Knollinger for a 2-0 advantage.

In the circle, Frizzell breezed through the first part of the game, facing the minimum through the first three innings and striking out three in the process as the Knights led 2-0 after three innings.

Seeing that her Blue Eagles were struggling at the plate, Magnolia coach Angela Schmalz changed the gameplan in the top of the fourth, having hitters bunt just to put the ball in play.

“We weren’t having too much success in the beginning with hitting the ball so we went to some small ball just to get the momentum going,” Schmalz said. “It worked really well.”

Sydney Scott and Kalaina Moellendick led off the top of the fourth with consecutive bunt singles. Haidyn Bland also laid down a bunt and a poor throw past first base allowed Scott to come home and cut Central’s lead in half. Another poor throw towards home plate on the same play gave Moellendick and Bland the chance to each take an extra base and get into scoring position.

Following that sequence, Davidson came out of the dugout to try and calm his team down.

With runners on second and third with no outs, Emma Steele and Alexis Williams both hit run-scoring groundouts as the Blue Eagles scored three runs without hitting a ball out of the infield and took a 3-2 lead.

“I think some of our youngness showed that inning,” Davidson said. “I’m glad that after I went and talked to them that they calmed down and didn’t panic and make it worse. They made the next plays that they were supposed to and it worked out for us.”

Magnolia held its lead for one inning before Shaw doubled home Frizzell on a ball into the right-center gap in the bottom of the fifth and Frizzell’s hard hit ball in the bottom of the sixth allowed Mia DiBias to score the go-head run and Trina Baker to tack on another for insurance.

Magnolia threatened in the top of the seventh as Sienna McKeever got to second base with no outs. Olivia Stine tried to bunt her over to third base, but this is where Central’s fielders showed their growth. Unlike in the fourth inning, the Knights cleanly fielded the ball and threw to first base for the out. Then when McKeever rounded third and broke towards home, Aspyn Bowman threw to catcher Ava Hanson, who hung onto the ball and tagged McKeever out for a double play.

“The more they play this year, they’re starting to become a really close-knit group of girls,” Davidson said. “They lift each other up, they don’t let anybody pout.”

Frizzell pitched all seven innings for the Knights. She had four 1-2-3 innings, with three of her six allowed hits coming on bunts in the fourth inning. She struck out six and walked one and also hit a single and a double at the plate.

Ashlee Baker, Trina Baker and Shaw all also had doubles in the game. Knolling drove in two runs and Shaw had one RBI.

Stine pitched the full game for Magnolia. After allowing hits to each of the first three batters she faced, Stine settled in and scattered five hits across the next five innings while punching out three and walking one.

“There’s only so much you can control as a pitcher,” said Schmalz. “I tell my pitchers to have short-term memory loss out there and to focus on what they can control. The only thing you can do is focus on the next batter and not dwell on the past. I think she did a good job of that (Wednesday).”

Steele and Williams drove in a run each for the Blue Eagles while Scott finished with two base knocks.

Wheeling Central 5, Magnolia 3

M 0-0-0 3-0-0 0 — 3 6 3

WC 2-0-0 0-1-2 x — 5 8 3

MAGNOLIA — Stine lp (3K, 1BB) and Conner. Scott 2S; Steele rbi; Williams rbi.

WC — Frizzell wp (6K, 1BB) and Hanson. Frizzell S, D; Knollinger S, 2rbi; A. Baker D; Shaw D, rbi; T. Baker D.