Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Kacey Kruthoff makes a play for St. Edmond. Kruthoff hit a three run homer for the Gaels against Akron-Westfield on Friday night.

AKRON — The St. Edmond softball team wouldn’t go away quietly against seventh-ranked Akron-Westfield on Friday night in a Class 1A regional semifinal.

The Gaels (6-10 overall) who had already pulled off two postseason upsets, were looking for their third, but the Westerners (16-2) just had too much in the end as they pulled out a 10-4 victory over St. Edmond.

“I think (in the postseason) we showed growth in year one,” said St. Edmond first year head coach Bill Shirbroun. “Going in and winning two postseason games was a great way to do that.

“We started with a losing streak and then won a couple, lost a couple and then finished strong. The most important thing is that we showed improvement for the future.”

Akron-Westfield took a 5-1 lead into the sixth inning, but junior Kacey Kruthoff and the Gaels showed their grit in the top of the frame.

Jocy Timmerman led off the inning with a single, followed by a single from sophomore Gracie Harvey.

Kruthoff then blasted a three run homer, her third of the season, to trim the lead to 5-4. Alyson Nieland also had a double in the inning.

The Westerners started the sixth, loading the bases with nobody out. With a couple of big hits and a couple of Gael errors, Akron-Westfield plated five runs to take the 10-4 lead.

“When you are playing good teams, you can’t make the errors that we made,” Shirbroun said. “We were right there with them, but we commited to many mistakes.”

St. Edmond grabbed the first lead of the game in the fourth after Harvey started the frame with a walk. She stole second and advanced to third on an error. Harvey scored on a double steal as the Westerners attempted to make the play at second base on Ella Vratny.

“I honestly thought going in it was going to be a close game, like 2-1,” Shirbroun said. “When we got the one run, I thought if we made plays with the way Ella was pitching, we would be right in it.”

Timmerman and Ashlyn Headlee finished the contest with two hits each. Kaili Henning, Harvey, Nieland and Kruthoff all had hits.

“The big thing I noticed was they had 10 subs and we had one,” Shirbroun said. “I want to build our program up and show improvement, where we have the numbers and that’s what we we’re building towards.”

Timmerman is the lone senior on the Gael squad.

“I wish I had more time with Jocy,” Shirbroun said. “She kept the team up and led by example.

“She took a lot of the pressure off of us and showed the other girls how to lead.”