Story by Jim Horvath
Photos and video by Larry Bennet

The Avon Lake fastpitch softball team came oh so close to knocking off top seed Elyria in the Division I district semifinals Monday afternoon.

Pioneers designated player Alexis Roseboro made sure that didn’t happen.

Roseboro drilled a two run home run to right center in the bottom of the fourth inning as state-ranked Elyria held on for a narrow 2-1 win over the Shoregals at North Ridgeville. The Pioneers, now 22-2, advanced to Tuesday’s district title game against Westlake, a 7-6 winner over Amherst in the day’s second semifinal matchup.

Pioneer ace Caitlyn Minney (17-1) out-dueled Avon Lake junior Annie Wennerberg (14-7) with a two-hit, 14-strikeout performance. Wennerberg more than held her own, allowing just six hits, walking just one and striking out two.

But one of those six hits Wennerberg allowed was the two-run bomb on a 1-2 pitch that was out of the strike zone, according to Avon Lake head coach Kevin Atkins.

“I thought Annie did a great job. She took control of the game and made pitches when she had to,” said Atkins, whose team fell to 17-8.

“She made a good pitch, but that girl made a better swing,” Atkins said of the Roseboro homer. “I tip my hat to her. You hit a ball that’s off your ankles, that low, and golf it out of there...there’s nothing Annie could do. She put it exactly where she wanted it.”

Avon Lake got to within a run in the six inning on Wennerberg’s two-out RBI single. Junior Abby Rogers had a one-out double in the seventh, but a base running error and a line out to center ended the Shoregal threat.



Tag: AL