The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
KEYSTONE MOVES CLOSER TO GOAL
Campbell hurls shutout as Wildcats wrap up their third straight regional crown
TIFFIN >> Something has been bugging Keystone all year — unfinished business.
Now, the Wildcats are one step closer to the state title that has eluded them since the 2012 championship as Keystone escaped the Division II Tiffin regional final with a 2-0 win over Oak Harbor.
The win is Keystone’s (26-4) third straight regional title and sends the Wildcats to the state tournament for the 16th time. Keystone advances to the D-II state tournament to face Akron Archbishop Hoban June 2 at Firestone
Stadium.
“It never gets old,” Keystone coach Jim Piazza said. “With this group, it’s something special. It’s been a total team effort. They want to do everything as a group and it’s all credit to them.”
“We have a job that we haven’t finished and I’m so glad that we can get back and hopefully redeem ourselves,” senior Sammie Stefan added.
The motto all postseason has been “score first” as Keystone entered the regional tournament knowing it would be the visiting
team the rest of the way — no matter how far it got — and the Wildcats stuck to that as they broke through in the top of the third, thanks to a crucial Oak Harbor error and a clutch hit from freshman Marlie McNulty.
“That’s been their motto,” Piazza said. “We love our offense and it doesn’t matter who does it, our biggest key is just put the ball in play. We knew (Ashley Riley) was a great pitcher and (Oak Harbor is) a great team and it was going to take a total team effort, which I think it did.”
Keystone needed a wellrounded effort as Riley kept its normally potent offense in check, striking out seven and holding the Wildcats to three hits, but starter Sydney Campbell and the relentless Keystone defense staved off the Rockets.
Campbell (13-2) pitched a complete game, giving up three hits and striking out four, but it was McNulty who shined, displaying the poise of an upperclassmen despite being just a ninthgrader.
The freshman made more than one impressive catch in left field, including a snag just over the fence that looked like it might go the distance.
“I was just comfortable because I knew the whole
time my team was going to have this and in the outfield what usually helps me is (catching) those popups before the game,” McNulty said. “I knew (Oak Harbor) was going to be a good hitting team so I just prepared for that and did what I could.
“The only difficult thing about it was that when a popup comes my way, I hear nothing immediately and I just zone in on it, so the one that was going towards the fence, I didn’t know where the fence was but I made sure that I had track of it.”
Stefan, Keystone’s No. 3 hitter who entered the game batting .562 with 50 hits and 52 RBI, struggled her first two at-bats before giving the Wildcats
the insurance they needed — a sacrifice fly to the center field warning track to score none other than McNulty and put her team up, 2-0 in the sixth inning.
“I wasn’t being very disciplined at the plate today so obviously I didn’t have a good day, but Coach P just told me to be a leader and I knew that I had to do it for my teammates because we needed that insurance run to make sure we could pull this win off,” Stefan said.
“It didn’t matter that I got out. The fact that the ball went to the opposite side of the field and Marlie was able to score, I’m glad me and Marlie could both contribute and get that run in.”
Oak Harbor finishes 29-2.