SULLIVAN TWP., Ohio – Yeah… your bubble has burst, Black River.

You can no longer hide in the shadows and sneak up on area softball teams like you have all season.

Defeating the defending state champions and knocking them out of the tournament will do that to you.

On Wednesday, the Pirates welcomed Jeromesville Hillsdale onto their diamond and then promptly kicked the Falcons out of the tournament in a 5-2 North Ridgeville Division III Sectional final win.

“I think tonight we said this team is for real,” Black River coach Merle Simmons said. “They’ve played great all year. This was a huge win.

“Until you win a game like this, you’re still Black River. But all the effort and hard work they put in, it paid off. This was a statement for Black River.”

It was a statement to the rest of the state as the Pirates (15-3) put together a complete game to knock off Hillsdale (16-6) and snap a seven-game winning streak.

Black River got behind a run in the first, but scored three in the bottom half of the frame.

“I guess we proved we’re out here to win,” Black River catcher Taylor Goff said. “We’re not messing around this year. We finally found the talent we’ve always had.

“We beat the state champs. Everyone should know we’re out to get whoever is next. I think we made a big statement and gained a lot of respect from teams that didn’t really look at us as competition.”

The Falcons appeared to take Black River lightly, but quickly found out they were in a game.

Shaking off first-inning jitters, the Pirates settled in and won a game where Dagmar Smith (15-3) wasn’t her usual bazillion-strikeouts-a-game self.

The fight in Black River showed in the fifth when it scored two runs off one wild pitch.

Taylor Petush (11-2) missed everything on a pitch to the plate, allowing Nora Smith to score from third. But a heady Jessica Chidsey came barreling around third and scored as well to make it a 5-1 game.

“This year, we’ve been climbing and climbing,” Chidsey said. “Today was a climax to that climbing. We’re not done, but this definitely put us on the map.

“We made a statement that we’re here to play and we’re not done. In past years, once Black River got down, there was no getting back up.”

Now, the Pirates will have to get up for a team it has already beaten.

Rocky Rivere Lutheran West (3-9) upset Independence (16-4) in another sectional final, bouncing the Blue Devils 6-3.

On April 15, Black River beat Lutheran West 5-0. Dagmar Smith tossed a one-hitter and struck out 14.

The two will meet Tuesday in a district semifinal.

“They were ready to play, and we weren’t,” Hillsdale coach Tiffany Smith said. “I would say it’s disappointing. I didn’t expect this, and the kids didn’t expect this. They’re a good team.”

COMPLETE NORTH RIDGEVILLE DIV. III BRACKET, Click HERE

In other Div. III & IV sectional games:

Garrettsville Garfield 4, Waterloo 1

GARRETTSVILLE, Ohio – Continuing the momentum they gained from upsetting Manchester on Tuesday, the G-Men (10-5) used a five-hitter from Leanne Schaffer (10-5) to defeat the Vikings (8-6) and win a Creston Division III Sectional title.

COMPLETE CRESTON NORWAYNE DIV. III BRACKET, Click HERE

East Canton 10, Wellsville 0

EAST CANTON, Ohio – The Hornets (6-7) scored seven runs in the second inning and got a three-hitter from Letitia Bittinger (6-7) and her fifth home run of the season to win a Cortland Division IV Sectional opener.

COMPLETE CORTLAND DIV. IV BRACKET, Click HERE

Mogadore 14, Our Lady of the Elms 2

MOGADORE, Ohio – The Wildcats (14-4) scored 11 runs in the first inning to capture this Ashland Division IV Sectional opener. Ashley Lange tripled three times for Mogadore.

COMPLETE ASHLAND DIV. IV BRACKET, Click HERE

In other regular season games:

Rootstown 3, Streetsboro 2

STREEETSBORO, Ohio – The Rovers (10-6, 5-4) outscored the Rockets (6-10, 3-6) 2-1 in the eighth inning to win in the Portage Trail Conference County Division.

Archbishop Hoban 4, St. Vincent-St. Mary 3

AKRON, Ohio – It’s been an unusually tough season for the Knights (3-11), but it became a little easier for them to take with this victory over the arch rival Fighting Irish I (12-10). Katie Morris (3-2) tossed a six-hitter.

Nordonia 3, Cuyahoga Falls 0

MACEDONIA, Ohio – Junior Sara Andrasik (14-5) tossed a no-hitter, striking out nine and walking just one, as the Knights (16-7) defeated the Black Tigers (8-13) in the Northeast Ohio Conference.

Springfield 2, Southeast 1

DEERFIELD, Ohio – Junior Gabby Lessak (5-4) threw a three-hitter for the Spartans (15-6, 10-2) as they edged the Pirates (7-6, 6-5) in the PTC Metro Division.

Coventry 12, Crestwood 4

COVENTRY TWP., Ohio – The Comets (7-9, 5-6) scored seven runs in the first inning to cruise to this PTC Metro triumph.

Hudson 1, Solon 0

SOLON, Ohio – Junior Casey Brown (15-2) turned in her second two-hit shutout victory in as many days as the Explorers (16-4, 8-1) edged the host Comets (11-8, 4-5).

Manchester 2, Navarre Fairless 0

NEW FRANKLIN, Ohio – Junior Rachel Harbarger (16-4) hurled a two-hitter as the host Panthers (18-4, 13-0) remained unbeaten in the Principals Athletic Conference with this win over the Falcons (11-7, 9-3).