Photo/KRISTIN MAZGAJ MARTINS FERRY centerfielder Sydney Koller makes a running catch during Friday’s Buckeye 8 Championship game at Martins Ferry. The Purple Riders rallied for a 9-7 victory.

MARTINS FERRY — Before the start of every season, no matter what the sport is, each team sets its goals for the upcoming campaign. Martins Ferry’s softball team was no different.

And although its No. 1 goal was derailed earlier in the week with a stunning loss to West Muskingum as the top seed in the opening round of the Division III sectional tournament, the Purple Riders still had one game left to play Friday with a lot at stake.

Overcoming a 7-3 deficit entering the home half of the fifth, Martins Ferry tallied half-a-dozen runs for a 9-7 victory over Edison and its second Buckeye 8 Championship, the first coming in 2007. The come-from-behind triumph also allowed the Purple Rider to tie a program-record for wins with 23 wins. They also won the OVAC Class 3A title earlier this month.

“We talked about what we had left to play for,” Martins Ferry head coach Jerry Magistro said. “We just played one of the best teams we’ve played all season. Edison has hitting, pitching and a great head coach. They are solid all the way around.

“I’m so proud of this group of girls to keep fighting like they did after what they went through on Tuesday, and to still have this left in them,” Magistro said. “They’re good kids and I hope it carries over to next year because we’re only losing two seniors.”

Taylor Bell gave the hosts a 3-0 lead when she connected for her fifth home run of the season with two outs in the bottom of the third. The bomb to deep left scored winning pitcher Kelsi Gillespie and Hunter Pollock and came on a 1-0 offering. It was the team’s 31st.

However, the Wildcats (17-9) put up a 7-spot in the fourth as Audrey Scott ignited the outburst with a solo shot over the fence in right. Hannah Christoff followed with a walk and Kiley Babel singled to right. Christoff raced home when the throw to third got away and Babel took second. Mychi Stewart singled sharply to center as courtesy runner Olivia Fankhauser scored. Stewart went to second when the ball once again was misplayed and Pressly Meadows put her team ahead, 4-3. Becka Evans singled Meadows to third and she scored on the third error of the inning, but Morgan Martin was thrown out trying for third. Maddie Brenstuhl singled home Evans and, after going to second on an throw home, she stole third and came home when the throw sailed into left.

Martins Ferry answered with six runs in the fifth. Maria Clark singled leading off and Bell reached on an error. Lauren McFarland drew a full-count walk to load the bases and Shelby Thomas lifted a sacrifice fly to left that drove in Clark. With two outs, Ava Doyle singled to re-load the bases and Gillespie walked to force in a run. Pollock drilled a two-run double to the fence in left-center that tied the game and Lude followed with a two-run single up the middle that proved to be the game-winner.

“We’ve doing that a lot this season,” Magistro said of the late inning magic. “You have to watch out though because sometimes it can catch up to you when you don’t get that hit here or there.”

Edison had one last opportunity with runners on first and second with two outs in the seventh. However, after Babel singled to center veteran Edison head coach Spencer Bendle held the runner at third, but the runner going from first to second didn’t, which created a logjam between second and third and forced the runner at third to try to score. She was tagged out in a rundown to end the game.

“Ava and Shelby are two great leaders that did a good job,” Magistro said of the lone seniors. “They will be missed.”

When asked how tough it was to get the girls back up after such a devastating setback, Magistro admitted it was real tough.

“We talked about that Wednesday at practice after Tuesday’s loss. Heck, it was tough getting back up as coaches,” he said. “I couldn’t sleep for a couple of days. I shouldn’t feel that way, but after you’ve coached as long as I have, it just happens.

“You could also see it in the girls eyes and the way they went through practice that day.”

While the Purple Riders conclude play, the Wildcats have bigger fish to fry.

“We had a too many wasted innings. I’ve said that before during this season,” Bendle said. “For the first three innings we didn’t do anything. I’m not sure we even had one hard-hit ball. You can’t do that. You’ve got to come out ready to play every game and put pressure on your opponent.

“After winning a (D-III) sectional title on Thursday we didn’t come out ready to play. I don’t know if winning that title had anything to do with our performance or not, but after we had our big inning, we made a couple of boo-boos and let them have a big inning,” Bendle recalled. “You just can’t do that in big games.”

Ella McFarland (single, double), Pollock (single, double) and Clark (2 singles) all had multi-hit games. Gillespie struck out four, walked two and gave up 11 hits, with six of those coming in the fourth and three in the seventh.

Scott, Babel and Meadows all had a pair of safeties for Edison. Katie Fluharty suffered the loss in relief of Scott. They combined for two Ks and four base-on-balls while also serving up 11 hits.

Edison treks to Youngstown today to meet Ursuline before playing in the district semifinals on Monday at Carrollton against Tuscarawas Valley.

“That is really where our focus is right now,” Bendle said of the postseason tournament.