The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Elyria Pioneers advance to state semifinal
Timely hitting, stellar defensive plays carry the Pioneers to regional title win over Whitmer
It wasn’t the matter of how many opportunities Elyria had, but what they did with them.
CLYDE>> It wasn’t the matter of how many opportunities Elyria had, but what they did with them.
The Pioneers had runners reach base only twice, but broke a scoreless deadlock in the bottom of the fourth inning. Junior April Howser capped things off with a two-run blast in the sixth inning, while Elyria pitcher Isabella St. Peter escaped jam after jam to help Elyria earn its 12th regional championship with a 3-0 Division I win over Toledo Whitmer May 27 at Clyde High School.
Elyria (20-4), which is making its first state appearance since 2014, will play second-ranked Gahanna Lincoln at 10 a.m. June 1 at Akron Firestone Stadium.
“It’s super special,” Elyria coach
Ken Fenik said. “From where we started to where we’re at now. We grew on the maturity side. We grew on the chemistry side. This has been one of the loosest teams I’ve ever coached … I’m very proud of each one of them.”
St. Peter had a quiet first inning, but the Panthers (20-8) put runners on first and third with two outs. St. Peter got out of the jam. In the fourth inning, Toledo Whitmer tried to get the first run of the game but Macy Taylor threw out Kaylee Keesee at the plate after Amanda Combs’ single.
The defensive gem gave the Pioneers a lift.
Combs, who set down the first 11 batters, gave up her first hit as Howser rifled a double off the center field fence. A walk and an infield single loaded the bases.
Dierra Hammons hit a hard shot up the middle, but a diving stop by Mckenzie Brown kept the ball in the infield. Keesee, who was playing shortstop, tried to stretch and grab the ball for the force out, but was ruled off the bag. It allowed Howser to score and give Elyria a 1-0 lead.
“I was kind of shaken up after my first at-bat because I wanted to do something so bad,” Hammons said. “Once I came up with bases loaded, Coach Fenik told me I know you can come through, right? So, I went into the batter’s box focused and made sure I could do something simple to bring the run in.”
With the one-run lead, St. Peter ran into another jam in the top of the sixth.
Amy Kimura led off the inning with a single. She went to second on a wild pitch and to third after a sacrifice bunt.
Again, the Pioneers’ defense came through as Riley Zana snagged a liner off the bat of Keesee. St. Peter ended the threat with a strikeout. For the game, Whitmer stranded seven runners
Howser, who had a tworun homer in the regional semifinal win over Parma, repeated history. She blasted a two-run shot well over the left field fence to give Elyria a 3-0 lead.
“I wasn’t expecting to come out and hit two home runs,” Howser said. “It (home run) relieves pressure … I went in thinking this game is too close and I have to do something to help the team.
“It’s truly an amazing feeling.”
The Panthers’ last chance was taken away by Elyria’s defense as Taylor threw out Brooklynn Esser, who was trying to stretch a single into a double, to end the game.
Hammons, who reached state as a freshman, is ending her career at state.
“This is an amazing feeling,” Hammons said. “We’re all excited for each other.
“It’s going to be so much better doing this (state) as a senior.”
“Once I came up with bases loaded, Coach Fenik told me I know you can come through, right?”
— Dierra Hammons