The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Titans’ comeback bid falls short in semifinal
Fielding errors dig too big of a hole against Magnificat
Lorain got down, but as it has done for most of the year, the Titans still fought in a heartbreaking 9-8 Division I Avon Lake District sectional semifinal loss to Magnificat on May 9.
The Titans dug themselves into an early 6-0 hole, and then trailed 9-3 after just three innings, but positioned themselves to tie it when they scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut it to 9-8. They couldn’t muster another run.
Magnificat plays Elyria on May 10, while Lorain is 12-6 overall and is the likely winner of the Lake Erie League title (9-0) when they conclude play against Cleveland Heights on May 11.
“I think we played well,” Lorain coach Pam Jackson said. “We had a couple errors that gave up a lot of unearned runs and without those unearned runs, in my opinion, these girls won the ballgame statwise, but not scorewise. But they played hard and didn’t give up until the end and that’s all you can ask for.”
In the circle for Lorain was senior Selena Shawver, who despite having to deal with those unearned runs, battled for seven innings and gave up nine hits to give the Titans a
chance.
It was Shawver’s first season at Lorain, playing at Brookside her first three years. She is 8-4 overall with an ERA north of 2.70.
“Her performance was great tonight,” Jackson said. “I spoke to her last week and I told her, ‘Next week, you’ve got to be ready. You have two games next week and you’re not coming out.’ She shows a lot of character and will fight through. She knows what it takes to give these girls what they need.”
The Blue Streaks wasted no time in the top of the first, jumping out to a 4-0 lead, including scoring two runs on throwing errors. They tacked on two more in the second.
But in the bottom of the first, Lorain’s Alexxis Moon hit an infield RBI before freshman standout Talia Harris ripped a two-run double, scoring Alexis Garcia and Moon.
The Titans will look back to the third inning with some regret. After a Magnificat leadoff single, Molly McNamara reached on a throwing error and then Sara Fessler hit a slow chopper that created chaos on the Titans defense. She wound up circling the bases for a 9-3 lead. Fessler also started for Magnificat, pitching six innings and giving up 11 hits.
“I told the girls to fight the whole time,” Magnificat coach Kasey Whitehead Reis said. “Sara’s only been pitching for about 15 months and works really hard. Hopefully she can play like that the rest of the tournament. We got some really clutch hits with people in scoring position and the girls did a nice job.
“We swung at the first good pitch. I was a pitcher my whole life and pitchers always try to get ahead of the count. So that was our approach.”
After tacking on two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth, Lorain continued its charge in the sixth, getting back-to-back RBI from Shawver and senior Raegan Osko to makes things interesting. But with its last shot in the bottom of the seventh, the Titans went down 1-2-3.