Pioneers standing tall at 2-0

Elyria resilient on 1st day; Keystone suffers first loss

Bob Daniels
The Chronicle-Telegram

LAGRANGE — In a daylong softball banquet, Elyria’s once-beaten Pioneers won two games on Friday on the first day of the inaugural Albert C. Prebis Memorial Classic at Community Park.

The Pioneers, who twice came from behind to defeat Barberton in their second game, set the pace for three Lorain County teams in the eight-team, two-day round robin. The Pioneers (9-1), who shut out Tallmadge in their first game, got a 5-for-6 performance from shortstop Andrea Nagy for the afternoon.

Previously unbeaten Keystone (9-1) split two games, losing for the first time to Tallmadge, an old nemesis. The Blue Devils took advantage of Keystone errors — physical and mental — and four unearned runs to offset a strong pitching job by senior Jessica Burt.
Pitcher Kristie Malinkey fired a perfect game in the Wildcats’ 1-0 opening-game win over Barberton.

And Wellington (3-3), facing two teams with a combined 11 state championships, dropped a pair. The Lady Dukes made a strong push at nine-time state champ Akron Springfield after being shut out by two-time champ North Canton Hoover.
In other games, Springfield nipped Brunswick 2-0 in 13 innings and Hoover ripped Brunswick 5-1.
The tournament concludes today with eight games, starting at 1 p.m. The spotlight games send Elyria against Keystone and Springfield against Hoover. Both are scheduled for 3 p.m.

“Obviously the coaches and I were totally impressed with the way our team played defense,” Elyria coach Ken Fenik said.
The Pioneers committed just one error in the two games.
“Also we were down a run twice against Barberton, but came back and won,” Fenik said. “The middle and bottom of our order picked up some slack today and Nagy had a great day at the plate.”
Nagy’s five hits included a first-game triple and second-game double.
The Pioneers, who defeated Tallmadge 4-0 in the first game, had enough to win with a three-run second inning. Nagy had three of her hits, including the triple, and freshmen Tess Sito and Sarah Bracey had two hits apiece.
Nagy had two more hits, including a double in the come-from-behind 4-2 victory over Barberton. Jen Bower blasted a triple, Andrea Stolarski a double, Bracey had an RBI single and Erin Sunagel put up an RBI.

Malinkey, who has often said she’d rather give up a home run than a walk, gave up neither in her 1-0 perfecto over Barberton. The Wildcats scored their run in the fourth after Kate Yeo led off with a double, then ran home when Taylor Bell reached on an error. Burt had two hits and a double for Keystone.
Keystone led Tallmadge after a two-run first inning, but the Blue Devils came back with two-spots of their own in the fourth and sixth, taking advantage of Wildcat mistakes. Burt, who had another hit, also walked no one and struck out five.

Bright spots for Wellington were Monica Brasee’s two hits against Hoover, including a double, and Sarah Auble’s 3-for-4 performance at the plate against Springfield. Michele Howk belted a three-run double in the Wellington fourth.

Elyria 4, Tallmadge 0
Tallmadge 000 000 0 — 0 4 0
Elyria 030 001 x — 4 8 1
Pitching: (T) Archual IP-6, H-8, R-4, ER-4, BB-3, SO-8; (E) Bashak IP-7, H-4, R-0, ER-0, BB-0, SO-5
Hitting: (T) Archual, Joliat, Grace, Kelly; (E) Nagy 3 (3b), T. Sito 2, Bracey 2, Stolarski.

Keystone 1, Barberton 0
Barberton 000 000 0 — 0 0 2
Keystone 000 100 x — 1 5 0
Pitching: (B) Hrycyk IP-6, H-5, R-1, ER-0, BB-3, SO-4; (K) Malinkey IP-7, H-0, R-0, ER-0, BB-0, SO-11.
Hitting: (K) Burt 2 (2b), Yeo (2b), Dill, Malinkey.

Hoover 6, Wellington 0
Wellington 000 000 0 — 0 2 2
Hoover 004 020 x — 6 8 1
Pitching: (W) Kies IP-6, H-8, R-6, ER-4, BB-2, SO-5; (H) Houtz IP-7, H-2, R-0, ER-0, BB-0, SO-6.
Hitting: (W) Brasee 2 (2b); (H) Kelly 2, Hautz, Lindeman, Russ, Gerber, Warner, Pakenham.

Elyria 4, Barberton 2
Barberton 010 010 — 2 6 1
Elyria 001 03x — 4 7 0
Pitching: (B) Hrycyk IP-5, H-7, R-4, ER-3, BB-2, SO-6; (E) T. Sito IP-5 2/3, H-6, R-2, ER-2, BB-1, SO-3; Bashak IP- 1 1/3, H-0, R-0, ER-0, BB-3, SO-2.
Hitting: (B) Alexander 2, Barnes (RBI); (E) Nagy 2 (RBI), Bower (3b), Stolarski (2b), Bracey (RBI), Sunagel (RBI).

Tallmadge 4, Keystone 2
Tallmadge 000 202 0 — 4 6 1
Keystone 200 000 0 — 2 5 2
Pitching: (T) Stein IP-7, H-5, R-2, ER-2, BB-1, SO-4; (K) Burt IP-7, H-6, R-4, ER-0, BB-0, SO-5.
Hitting: (T) Tomello 2, Archual, Stein, K. Philen (3b), Joliat (2b); (K) Dill, Malinkey, Burt, Coyne, Stromack.

Springfield 9, Wellington 5
Wellington 000 301 1 — 5 6 3
Springfield 121 122 x — 9 10 0
Batteries: (W) Conklin and Sawyer; (S) Cain and Tennant.
Hitting: (W) Auble 3, Howk (2b, 3 RBIs).

Akron Springfield 2, Brunswick 0 (13 inn.)
North Canton Hoover 5, Brunswick 1

Standings

Elyria 2-0
Akron Springfield 2-0
Keystone 1-1
Tallmadge 1-1
Wellington 0-2
Barberton 0-2