Maplewood’s Raegan Krieg, Lauren Krieg and Addison Marker raise the state runner-up trophy after Maplewood was defeated by Notre Dame in their Division VII State Final match up, Friday evening at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio. (David Dermer/Warren Tribune Chronicle)

AKRON — In front of what was possibly the entire population of Mecca Township, the Maplewood Rockets did what they have done in each of their last 30 trips to the diamond: Battle.

Unfortunately for the Rockets, they couldn’t get the hits they needed, falling 3-0, to Portsmouth Notre Dame, in the Division VII state championship on Friday.

“Obviously getting to the stage was the ultimate goal, and it wasn’t that I didn’t believe that we could get here, but these girls fought every single game. Game after game to get to this moment,” Rockets coach Jessica Urchek said. “I thought we brought an awesome crowd. We’re a small-town community.

“These girls are born and raised as Rockets. We don’t have the advantage of picking the cream of the crop. That team won state last year. Hands down a great softball team, probably could play with any divisional team, but we played right with them, and I’m so proud of that. Take away that first inning and it’s a 1-0 game. With a lot of underclassmen out there, you’re gonna expect a little bit of nerves when you’re playing on this big stage. We didn’t put the bat on the ball as well or as hard as I thought we could have. But they made plays, and the team that makes the most plays usually wins the game.”

Notre Dame got its bats rolling from the start.

Lyndsey Schaefer hit a single to left field that scored Jaysa Bryant, then Schaefer scored soon after, capitalizing on a throwing error.

Two innings later, Alayla Soard added to the Titans’ lead.

Reagan Krieg recorded the team’s first hit of the night in the bottom of the fourth, but the Rockets couldn’t get a run on the board.

Maplewood kept Notre Dame off the scoreboard for the rest of the contest, but were unable to get anyone across home plate.

It was a history-making season for the Rockets and Maplewood High School as a whole. While the school has produced a countless number of track stars, the 2026 Rockets softball team is the first team in Maplewood history to reach the state finals.

They ended the season with a 28-3 record, a program-high in wins.

Maplewood returns all but three from this roster, Reagan Krieg, Lauran Krieg and Kaycee Hyde.

Each played a huge part in the Rockets reaching Friday’s contest, on the field and as leaders in the dugout.

When the seniors first entered the program as freshmen, Maplewood wasn’t in a great spot. But they stuck through it and helped build the program up to the highest point it’s ever been.

“It definitely feels good knowing that we left it way better than we did come into it,” Lauran Krieg said. “These girls will continue being great, and hopefully they can come back here and win it.”

When Urchek took over in their sophomore season, the expectations for the program skyrocketed. It was all to get to this point. Thinking back to the beginning of their high school careers, none of the seniors expected they’d end it at Firestone Park.

“It was rough (my freshman year), and then coach Urchek came in. She wanted to turn the program around, and we believed in her and we let the past upperclassmen kind of lead us through the change in coaching and (as we learned) a different style,” Reagan Krieg said. “They showed us how to never give up and just work hard and it’ll pay off, and it did. That’s how we ended up here.”

Both Lauran and Reagan Krieg are going to continue their softball careers at Malone University in Canton.

For Hyde, it was a season of memories.

“The people and the memories are going to stick with you forever,” she said.

Now the work begins toward 2027, where Maplewood once again hopes to make a splash. With a large crop of returners, including starting pitcher Addison Marker, shortstop Claire Urchek and third baseman Lexi Yannucci, the Rockets expect to remain a force to be reckoned with going forward.