Bob Daniels | The Chronicle-Telegram
LAGRANGE — It was one of those situations the bat-and-ball
sports do better than any other: Two outs, bottom of the last inning, runners at
first and second, home team down a run, 6-5.
Little freshman center fielder steps into the batter’s box and drills the first
pitch down the right-field line for a two-run triple, and the good guys — in
this case, Elyria High’s softball team — defeat Columbus St. Francis DeSales,
7-6.
The Pioneers (18-2) went home undefeated in four games, the only unbeaten among
a dozen teams in an annual invitational that concluded Saturday afternoon. And,
lest we overlook a reality of the Prebis Memorial Classic, the freshman’s triple
left Elyria the only Lorain County team not to lose in the final round of the
annual round-robin.
Host Keystone, Midview and Wellington all dropped one-run decisions to
out-of-county teams in the fourth and final round.
And Elyria Catholic, which posted a big win over Twinsburg in the first of its
two games, was mercy-ruled by Nordonia in the finale.
Elyria’s freshman hero is Alanna Williams, a diminutive outfielder-utility
player whose ringing bottom-of-the-seventh triple sent another freshman, Alyssa
Barker, and senior All-American pitcher-shortstop Tess Sito home with the
winning runs.
“The pitch was outside, but I just hit it so I could help my team,” Williams
said. “I thought she (DeSales’ right fielder) was going to catch it. But she
didn’t and I just ran as hard as I could. “
“When I saw the ball drop, I was just thinking I have to score so we can win
this game and I know Tess behind me is fast and she’s gonna score,” Barker said.
“I was excited that we won, because we’re undefeated in this tournament.”
It’s not like heroism is a new experience for Williams. It was her single that
drove Sito home for the Pioneers’ second run in a 2-0 victory over Tallmadge in
the first game of the afternoon. Until she came through with the chips down in
the third inning, Elyria led just 1-0 after Ashlee Stolarski drove Kristen Boros
home in the first.
Coach Ken Fenik, whose third-ranked Pioneers seemed to be on the verge of
defeat, was relieved after Williams uncorked her triple. Sito, the starting and
winning pitcher in Elyria’s first three games, did not start against DeSales.
But she finished in relief and picked up the win.
“What a game,” Fenik said. “I didn’t want to throw Tess, because she needed a
rest. But after we scored those runs (cutting DeSales’ lead to 6-5), Tess more
or less had fire in her eyes. She wanted it. When she went out there (to pitch),
you could see the swagger in the rest of the team. I’m very proud of them,
because we were down.”
Keystone, which thrashed Canfield 7-2 in its first game Saturday, nearly caught
Tallmadge after trailing 5-3 in the nightcap. The Wildcats (16-2) got a one-out
single from sophomore Casidy Gregory in the bottom of the seventh, and she
scored when Kenzie Conrad reached on an error with two out. But although they
loaded the bases with two out, the Wildcats couldn’t push across the equalizer.
Wellington dropped a 4-3 heartbreaker to Canfield in its second Saturday game
after defeating DeSales, 3-2, in the first. The big blow in the opener was Megan
Auble’s solo home run, her first of the season.
“She tried to throw me a riseball, but I stayed down on it,” Auble said.
Midview went 1-3 for the tournament and all four of its games were decided by
one run. The Middies lost to Twinsburg, 1-0, in Saturday’s second game after
dropping a tough 5-4 decision to Nordonia earlier in the day. A big hit in the
Nordonia game was Sydney Mencke’s fence-clearing homer.
“It’s been a while since I hit a good one like that,” Mencke said. “I’ve been in
kind of a slump the last couple games. I don’t know what she threw me, but if I
guessed I’d say it was just outside, just about right there (indicating waist
high). I knew it was going to go when I hit it. You can just feel it in the
bat.”
Even though they were routed in the second game, Elyria Catholic’s Panthers were
sharp in a 6-4 victory over Twinsburg in the first. In that one, Emily Thompson
hit a single and double, Emily Taylor had two singles and two RBIs and Jasmin
Filiaggi hit a two-run double.
“This is probably the best game we’ve played,” said Panthers assistant coach Dan
Spencer, filling in for head coach Brian Daw, who could not attend. “This is the
team we really are. This is one of the best games I’ve ever seen them play.”
Elyria 4-0, Keystone 2-1, Twinsburg 2-1, Wellington 2-2,
Canfield 2-2, Nordonia 2-2, Elyria Catholic 1-1, Tallmadge 1-1,
Uniontown Lake 1-1, Massillon Jackson 1-1, Midview 1-3,
Columbus DeSales 0-4