Prediction Comes True
Reid raps winner, ’Cats stop Hoover

Bob Daniels
The Chronicle-Telegram
ASHLAND — It’s not like Erica Reid is some kind of fortuneteller or swami or something.
For now, let’s just say her eighth-inning single with runners at second and third delivered Keystone its biggest win of the softball season Thursday.
Her one-out shot into center field sent Megan Coyne home with the run that lifted the Wildcats – the state’s second ranked team in Division II — to a 1-0 victory over North Canton Hoover, Ohio’s No. 1 team in Division I.
The extra-inning nail-biter kicked off the 13th Wendy’s Spring Classic at Brookside Park. The round robin is widely considered the most prestigious independently sponsored softball tournament in the eastern U.S.
The spooky thing about Reid is she told people ahead of time she was going to do it.
“We came into the dugout (after the seventh inning) and Erica goes, ‘There’s going to be a runner at second and third, I’m going to come up and I’m going to get a hit,’” said Wildcats pitcher Kristie Malinkey. “She’s like, ‘Most kids don’t want to be in that situation, but I love it.’”
Evidently. With the count 2-and-2, Reid hit what she said was either an inside fastball or a screwball. When Coyne scored, it marked Keystone’s 12th victory in 13 games and Malinkey’s ninth straight win without a loss.
“(Assistant coach Gary Saunders) had me open up my stance because (Hoover pitcher Jessica Simpson) had been jamming us all day,” said Reid, the Wildcats’ senior first baseman. “He had me open up so I wouldn’t be behind on the ball. I listened to him and had a hit.”
Which came as no surprise to Coyne, the senior shortstop.
“I knew she was going to hit the ball and I just wanted to run as hard as I could,” Coyne said. “I believed in her and that she could do it. I stopped and looked at it to make sure the shortstop wasn’t going to catch it, but it was through.”
The game, a scoreless tie after seven innings, was completed under the international tiebreaker. Under this rule, the team going to bat in extra innings starts with a runner at second base, the player who made the third out the previous inning.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association discontinued the tiebreaker this season, but made it optional for tournaments it does not sponsor, such as the Wendy’s Classic.
Hoover (14-2) had lost previously only to Akron Springfield. Keystone (12-1) pounded Springfield 6-1 last weekend in its own invitational tournament.
Malinkey pitched a three-hitter, struck out nine and walked only one. It looked as though she got stronger as the game progressed.
“I don’t know if I got stronger as much as they started chasing pitches more,” said Malinkey. “At the beginning of the game, they were very patient and I had to throw strikes for them to even swing at it.
“As the game went on, I think they just got more and more anxious and I picked up on that. I used that to my advantage. I threw a lot of high pitches and they swung at them. I threw a lot of back-door screws and riseballs.”
Reid’s game-winner was her third hit of the day. Freshman leadoff batter Kara Dill had two. The others in Keystone’s seven-hit attack were by Malinkey and Coyne.
The Wildcats squandered a great opportunity when they loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth inning. They also had two runners aboard in the third and fourth innings, but couldn’t send them around. For the game, Keystone left nine runners on base.
Nevertheless, coach Jim Piazza was delighted.
“That was a very nice win against a very nice team and it was huge for us,” he said. “Winning four of our last five games is pretty good and we’re real happy with it.”
Hoover Keystone
                     ab r h bi                            ab r h bi
Houtz             3 0 0 0         Dill                 4 0 2 0
Ab Lndman    3 0 0 0         Malinkey        3 0 1 0
Russ               2 0 0 0         Coyne            3 1 1 0
Gerber           3 0 1 0         Burt                3 0 0 0
McClure         0 0 0 0         Yeo               3 0 0 0
Close              0 0 0 0         Reid               3 0 3 1
Warner           2 0 1 0         Jenkins           0 0 0 0
Lilley               3 0 0 0         Stromack       2 0 0 0
Pakenham       3 0 0 0         Piwinski          0 0 0 0
Riccardi           3 0 1 0         Bell                3 0 0 0
Al Lndman       2 0 0 0         Jones              2 0 0 0
Simpson          0 0 0 0         Slone              1 0 0 0
Totals 23 0 3 0 Totals 27 1 7 1

Hoover    000 000 00 — 0
Keystone 000 000 01 — 1

SB—Coyne, Piwinski. SAC –Yeo, Malinkey. LOB—Hoover 3, Keystone 9.
IP H R ER BB SO
Hoover
Simpson, L   11-2 7 1/3 7 1 1 3 6
Keystone
Malinkey W, 9-0 8 3 0 0 1 9
HBP—by Simpson (Reid).