Staff photo / Brian Yauger Mathews senior Ashia Pate eyes home from third base during the Mustangs’ 4-0 victory over Chalker in Avon Lake.

AVON LAKE — Second verse, same as the first.

This time with a trip to the regional final on the line, Mathews picked up its second win over Chalker this season, downing the Wildcats, 4-0, in a Division VII regional semifinal.

“They came ready to play,” Mathews coach Jim Nicula said. “I just told them, this has been a journey, as we know, for three years here, four for them as a team. Embrace every moment because nothing’s guaranteed. You don’t ever get it back. Be great and play great. Great players rise up in big games, and we had that today.”

Those great moments came early for the Mustangs with a Maddy Hufford home run setting the tone in the top of the first.

It also came from an 11-strikeout performance from Olivia Matheny.

Up and down the lineup, Mathews made plays when and where they were needed.

Right before Ashia Pate swung the bat in the top of the fourth inning, you could hear Nicula yell, “Make a memory.”

Pate’s single to score courtesy runner Kat Rowan was just that.

“You want it to be a good one, not a bad one,” Nicula said with a laugh. “I use that as motivation to go out there and make something that you’re going to remember and say, ‘Man, in this game, I did that and it was my senior year’ and we had a bunch of those today.'”

Pate went 3-of-3 at the plate on Wednesday.

“They had some big hits,” Nicula said. “Ashia Pate went 3-for-3, and she’s our No. 7 hitter. She’s good. Confidence with her at times is ebbing in that, but she’s ready to go. She gets in (the batter’s box), and then she comes through at the plate, huge.”

In the game’s final moments, with two outs and the bases loaded after a pair of walks, Matheny fielded the ball and a quick toss to first helped seal the game for Mathews.

Chalker’s season ends for the second time in three years with a district trophy.

After a 2024 campaign marred by injuries and an early tournament exit, coach Rich Hudak talked about the importance of staying healthy all season.

With a solid core returning, including junior pitcher Tatum Hudak, who sat down 11, the Wildcats aim to make another deep push next season.

“It was a great, great year for us,” Rich Hudak said. “We went from being unsure if we were even going to have enough players to field a team, to playing in a regional semi. We’re super thrilled about that, super proud of the girls. It’s an awesome bunch, I love them all. We have three seniors leaving, with a lot of young ones coming back, so we’ll have to build upon that. Mathews is a great team, obviously a great game for them. It’s a great game overall, even in the elements here.”

If there’s one word to describe this Mathews team, it’s battle-tested.

Sitting at 25-5 on the season, the Mustangs have seen a little bit of everything.

“One thing that I told these kids yesterday, we’ve played nine opponents that are in the region. From Division I and then on down through Division VII,” Nicula said. “Chalker played none, Monroeville played one and Cuyahoga Heights played one. So we’ve been more than tested with who we’ve played. Crazy me taking them to Firestone in the rain and going to Alliance in the snow and all that is preparing for days like today, so that when it happens, you’re ready for it. You should be ready. You might not like it when you’re doing it early in the year, but at the end you’re (ready for those moments.)”

Now, the Mustangs get a chance for revenge as they’ll take on Monroeville in the regional final. Monroeville ended Mathews’ season last year in the state semifinal.

But no matter who Mathews plays, the approach never changes.

“Same thing as today,” Nicula said. “Come out with that hunger and confidence and play the game.”

Start time at Avon Lake on Friday is set for 2 p.m.