LAGRANGE — With 735 victories, Keystone has overtaken North Canton Hoover as the most successful softball program in Ohio. Hoover has 710 wins.

Keystone caught up with Hoover in another area Wednesday morning when five of its seniors signed national letters of intent to continue their softball careers at the college level.

Five Hoover softball players signed on the same day in November 2008 and went on to win the Division I state championship the following spring. They are believed to be the only schools in the state to have five players on the same team sign on the same day in any sport.

It was a big day for Keystone’s bat-and-ball sports. Two baseball players also signed Wednesday to play at Division I universities.

The seven signings were celebrated with an event in the gym that attracted a crowd of teammates, students, parents and other family members, coaches, athletic director Don Griswold, former AD Andy Gibson, principal Tom Clary and a big cake.

The softball players are shortstop Erin Pond and pitcher Kenzie Conrad, who will attend Akron of the Mid-American Conference; second baseman Alisha Silva and right fielder Alyson Broschk, Cleveland State of the Horizon League; and catcher Bri Buckley, Ashland of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

They were introduced by coach Jim Piazza.

The baseball players are pitcher-shortstop Brandyn Sittinger, who signed with Marshall of Conference USA, and pitcher-first baseman Caleb Schillace, Toledo of the MAC.

In the business-related absence of coach Mark Clement, they were introduced by new Elyria coach Ed Piazza, who for several years has coached Sittinger and Schillace in the summer.

“This is just phenomenal and a great reward for these kids for all the work they’ve put in since they were 8 or 9 years old,” Jim Piazza said of his softball players. “It shows what hard work can do if you stay committed. It’s a great feeling as a coach, bigger than a state championship. It stays with you because you know they’re going to the next step.”

Conrad and Pond said they chose Akron because they like the school, coach Julie Jones and her staff and decided it was a good fit.

“She’s awesome,” Pond said of Zips coach Julie Jones. “I don’t know how anyone could not get along with her. She’s one of my favorite people and I’ve only known her for a few months.”

Conrad said she plans to study either physical therapy or, eventually, radiology. Pond said she’s undecided about a field of study.

Broschk and Silva both said CSU offers everything they looked for, athletically and academically.

“I really liked all the coaches and everything seemed to fit,” said Silva, who watched the Vikings practice on a campus visit. “It’s a little faster pace with the practices, but it’s not going to be as big a jump for me because of Keystone’s practices.”

“I know a lot of the girls there and I really feel it’s going to be just like playing high school softball again,” said Broschk, who will enroll in the CSU nursing program. Silva plans to study health sciences.

Buckley said Ashland offered a generous scholarship and predicted she’ll see considerable playing time. And she has a major in mind.

“I’m going to go for biology with an interest in pre-pharmacy,” she said.

Since the softball players’ freshman season, the Wildcats have gone 85-11, won three conference, sectional and district championships, one regional title and were state runners-up last season.

In that time, Pond has batted .459 with 36 doubles, nine triples and 13 home runs. Silva is .467 with 12 doubles, eight triples and four homers; Conrad .404, 22 doubles, six triples and 12 homers; Broschk .367, nine doubles, a triple and six homers, and Buckley .355, 14 doubles, five triples and five homers.

In the circle, Conrad has a 41-5 record with 292 strikeouts and an 0.79 ERA.

Ed Piazza described Schillace and Sittinger as “team-first” players.

“I’ve known them since they were 6 or 7 years old and they’ve known what they wanted to do,” he said. “They’ve worked at it and they’re not prima donnas. They’ll help the other kids and do other things to help the team. You really couldn’t ask for two better kids. It was an honor to speak for them and they deserve everything they’ve earned.

Later, by phone, Clement said he’s confident Schillace and Sittinger can handle Division I college baseball.
“They’re both great kids, good students and a pleasure to coach,” he said. “It’s good to see them moving on to play at the next level.”

Schillace, who plans to study exercise science, said Toledo seemed like “the right place to be.”

“I saw a couple of colleges, got to see everything I wanted and I just felt like Toledo was the place to go,” he said. “The coaches are fantastic, I was around the players and they’re all cool.”

Asked about Marshall, Sittinger said: “I love the coaches, I love the program. They have a strong program and they’re in a very good conference.” He said he’ll study either business management or sports management.

Last spring, Sittinger was 8-1 on the mound, with 85 strikeouts and a 1.19 ERA. He batted .340 with eight doubles and a triple. Schillace was 5-2 as a pitcher, with 78 strikeouts and a 2.93 ERA. He was the Wildcats’ leading hitter at .430 and had eight doubles, a triple and two home runs.

Contact Bob Daniels at 329-7135 or softball@bobdaniels.info.