Softball
Items: 14 |
|
Lew's pitching, Brown's speed advance Westlake
The Westlake Demons managed just one run against Avon in their Division I sectional championship game with Avon.
Thanks to freshman pitcher Katie Lew, the one run proved to be enough.
Lew blanked the visiting Eagles, and her teammates made a second-inning run stand in a 1-0 victory. With the win, the fourth-seeded Demons advanced to next week’s district tournament at North Ridgeville.
Westlake scored what proved to be the game-winner when Erin Brown...
(184 reads) |
|
State-ranked Shoregals clinch share of SWC title
The Avon Lake Shoregals clinched a share of the Southwestern Conference fastpitch championship Monday with a 13-0 win over North Olmsted.
Annie Wennerberg tossed a 1-hitter at the Eagles, raising her record to 19-1 for the season. The state-ranked Shoregals were led offensively by Alexis Thomas, who went two-for-three with a triple, a double and three runs batted in.
Avon Lake, 23-1 overall and 13-1 in the SWC, was ranked third in Division I in the latest coaches poll. Brecksville, 21-5 overall and 13-1 in the conference, was ranked ninth. The Shoregals will host Midview Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. in a...
(206 reads) |
|
Fastpitch squads gear up for tournament season
The Westshore area’s fastpitch softball teams are winding down their regular seasons and gearing up for the tournament. The seeding meetings were held last Sunday, and the brackets are set.
In Division I, the action starts May 14 as Magnificat travels to Olmsted Falls in North Ridgeville District play. Also on that day, North Olmsted will play at Avon, while in Parma District play, John Marshall will travel to Lakewood. All games are at 4:30 p.m.
On May 15, the North Olmsted-Avon winner will travel to Westlake for a sectional final game. That same day, Midview will play at Avon Lake for another sectional title. These games are also scheduled for 4:30 p.m. In Division II...
(256 reads) |
|
Shoregals top Demons, stay in thick of SWC race
The Avon Lake Shoregals remained tied with Brecksville for the Southwestern Conference lead after a 6-1 win over Westlake Thursday afternoon.
Pitcher Annie Wennerberg moved to 12-1 on the season, allowing just a single run in the top of the first inning. Avon Lake tied the game in the bottom of the frame, then added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. The Shoregals put the game away with a 3-run outburst in the bottom of the sixth.
Offensively, Ali Balthaser led the way for Avon Lake (16-1) with three singles. Westlake fell to 9-9 on the season. On Saturday, Avon Lake will head east and participate...
(220 reads) |
|
Rockets win WSC opener on Wisner's RBI in 7th
The Bay softball team waited right until the very end to get its West Shore Conference season off on the right foot.
With the score tied at 8-8, Laura Wilson ripped a triple deep into the outfield. Lowry Wisner stepped up to the plate and brought her home with the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 9-8 win over Rocky River Saturday afternoon.
The win raised the Rockets’ overall record to 3-4, while Rocky River fell to 0-5...
(370 reads) |
|
DI Fastpitch: Shoregals fall short against Pioneers
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...
(612 reads) |
|
DI Fastpitch: Gambetta, Demons topple Amherst
As it turned out, the third time was the charm for the Westlake fastpitch softball team...
...with a big assist from Mackenzie Gambetta.
During the regular season, the Demons had lost both games to Amherst in Southwestern Conference play. But on Monday at North Ridgeville, the Westlake senior broke a 4-4 tie with her one out, two-run double in the top of the seventh inning...
(676 reads) |
|
Softball: Bay, Westlake ready for tournament play
After a rainy start to the week, the 2012 OHSAA Fastpitch Tournament should get back on track on Wednesday. Most Westshore teams will be in action, including Bay and Westlake.
The Rockets are coming off a doubleheader loss to Westlake on Saturday. The Demons blanked Bay, 5-0, in the first game on Jesse Moracz’s shutout, then came back with a 9-1 win in the second game. Westlake, now 14-8, scored eight runs in the second inning on three hits, four walks and three Bay errors.
“It was a good day to get refocused,” said Westlake head coach Tom Shiban, whose team had lost...
(717 reads) |
|
Softball: Amherst edges Bees, claims SWC again
With one game left in the Southwestern Conference fastpitch softball season, the race is officially over.
On Thursday, Amherst won its second-straight title with a narrow 2-1 win over second-place Brecksville. At Westlake, the Demons had their championship dreams dashed in a crushing 14-3 defeat at the hands of Midpark.
Avon Lake, which fell out of contention last week, got a four-hitter from pitcher Annie Wennerberg as the Shoregals topped North Olmsted, 8-0. Amherst, now 11-2 in the SWC, scored two runs...
(899 reads) |
|
Bees catch up to Westlake in SWC fastpitch race
Throughout the 2012 season, the Westlake fastpitch team has been able to pull out some important games with some late-inning rallies.
Just last week, the Demons rallied in the final two innings to top Avon Lake, then capped off their week with an extra inning 6-5 win over North Ridgeville in non-conference play. A narrow 2-1 win over North Olmsted on Monday had them in a tie for first place with Amherst in the Southwestern Conference race. But on a warm, breezy Wednesday afternoon...
(693 reads) |
|
Demons remain in first, rally late past Shoregals
For five innings, head coach Tom Shiban and his Westlake Demons probably felt like they were at a casting call for a sequel to the movie Ground Hogs Day.
On Monday, the Demons gave up a three-run homer early and dropped a 4-0 decision to Amherst, throwing the Southwestern Conference fastpitch race into a three-way tie. On Wednesday, a three-run homer in the first inning off the bat of Avon Lake’s Alexis Thomas led to another 4-0 deficit.
But when Julia Kosco was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning, the ending of that sequel was edited out and left on the cutting room floor. Westlake scored...
(976 reads) |
|
Wennerberg's one-hitter edges Banchek, Eagles
It became evident early on that Wednesday’s Southwestern Conference fastpitch matchup between Avon Lake and North Olmsted would turn into a pitchers duel.
From the first inning on, Shoregal junior Annie Wennerberg and Eagles senior Katie Banchek matched each other pitch for pitch. But while Banchek was solid, Wennerberg was nearly untouchable.
Wennerberg allowed an infield hit in the first inning and shut down the North Olmsted offense the rest of the way in a 2-0 win at Clifford Grady Field. A pair of unrearned runs proved to be enough support to up her record to 7-2 and keep the Shoregals...
(1055 reads) |
|
Good start helps Lakewood top River, get to .500
After a number of slow starts this season, the Lakewood fastpitch team was looking to get things rolling early Tuesday afternoon against Rocky River.
Mission accomplished.
The Rangers scored three runs in the top of the first inning and withstood a River rally in the final two innings to claim an 8-4 win over the Pirates at Elmwood Park. That evened their record at 7-7 heading into Wednesday’s Northeast Ohio Conference encounter with Elyria. Rocky River fell to 1-8...
(1013 reads) |
|
Errors costly for Shoregals as Westlake prevails
So far this season, Westlake head softball coach Tom Shiban has been searching for more consistency from his team’s offense.
Monday afternoon at Avon Lake, Shiban was still looking. The Shoregals’ defense, however, was more than happy to lend a hand in the meantime.
The Demons evened their record, both overall and in the Southwestern Conference, using five errors to their advantage in a 5-2 win over Avon Lake. Westlake and Avon Lake are now 1-1 in the SWC, tied with Midpark and Olmsted Falls behind unbeaten Amherst and Brecksville.
“The first inning, we hit the ball really well,” said Shiban, whose team jumped out to a 2-0 lead to start the game...
(1087 reads) |
|
