​Making their own statement on their way to an appearance in a Little League State Final, the Wheelersburg 9-10 Softball All-Stars finished the spring by outscoring its opposition 92-38 over its 11-game stretch en route to finishing as the 2026 Ohio Little League 9-10 Softball State Runner-Ups on Friday evening in Boardman.The Wheelersburg softball 9-10s, who defeated Rock Hill (12-2 in four innings), Symmes Valley (16-0 in three innings) and West (4-1 and 10-1) to win the district title, outscored its district opposition 42-3 across its four-game jaunt to reach the state tournament.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWheelersburg then survived an adventurous state journey that included several weather delays and a hotel change due to a lack of hot water en route to defeating Avon, Tallmadge and Olentangy at the state level — combining to defeat those three opponents by a 31-2 margin.Wheelersburg dropped an 11-1 decision to Canfield to fall into the consolation bracket, but after defeating Olentangy, the ‘Burg 9-10s defeated Canfield by a 12-6 count, forcing a deciding, winner-take-all state title game between the Canfield 9-10s once again. Wheelersburg ultimately fell in that game, 11-2, to settle for runner-up accolades.Maelyn Cline enjoyed a strong state tournament, to say the least — as No. 99 threw not one, but two perfect games, doing so against Avon and Olentangy. Cline threw a gem by striking out all nine batters she faced in a perfect three-inning performance against Avon, then threw a four-inning perfecto against Olentangy while striking out six batters.Makenna Music, who served as Wheelersburg’s leadoff hitter throughout the duration of the tournament and was the team’s second baseman, enjoyed a terrific state run, going 6-for-10 at the plate with a home run, a triple, two doubles, four RBI and seven runs scored from her leadoff spot in the batting order in Wheelersburg’s four victories at the state level (Avon, Tallmadge, Olentangy and the second Canfield contest).AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAlong with Music, seven additional players — Mila Tennant, Norma Hanzel, Olivia Luster, Zoey Smith, Aubrey Pascal, Layla Dyer and Annabelle Bussa — all reached the hit column against Avon.Music, Tennant, Hanzel, Luster, Dyer, Bussa and Marlee Pistole reached the hit column against Tallmadge, while Music, Tennant, Hanzel, Dyer, Pistole, Arnold, Cline and Bella Walker each had base hits against Olentangy.In the second game against Canfield that forced a winner-take-all third contest, Pascal and Pistole combined to go 6-for-6 with two doubles, four RBI and four runs scored while Hanzel and Pistole combined to go 4-for-6 with a double, two RBI and three runs scored to boot.Music, Tennant, Bussa, Smith and Walker also reached via a hit in that contest to help push matters to the third and deciding game.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementA complete list of the Wheelersburg 9-10 Softball All-Stars are below:00 — Layla Dyer1 —