The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
ELYRIA CROWNED
Pioneers win Division I state title defeating top-ranked Lebanon, 4-3
As Macy Taylor was mobbed at home plate, the dust still not settled, hundreds of Elyria fans watched with bated breath as a title hung in the balance — hinging on the umpires’ call as they met along the third base line.
In the end, Elyria earned its third state championship in program history, defeating topranked Lebanon, 4-3, June 3 in a wild finish at Firestone Stadium.
“I didn’t really see (the umpires) because everybody tackled me, but I’m still in shock,” Taylor said after the game. “I can’t believe it.”
Even coach Ken Fenik was in disbelief, saying: “I still don’t know what happened.”
With the game tied, 2-2, heading into the seventh inning, Lebanon (30-4) took its first lead of the day when Madison DeGennaro hit a two-out double to left field to score the go-ahead run.
“Everybody was on the same page emotionally,” senior Madison Cruzado said of the last inning. “We were fired up during the game, but we weren’t too high or too low. We kept a consistent emotional state and we just talked with each other and said, ‘We have the last chance to bat. We can end this right now.’ ”
Down to its last out, Elyria had runners on first and second with Cruzado up to bat — that’s when things took a turn.
Cruzado hit a ground ball to Lebanon’s shortstop, who couldn’t field it cleanly and all runners were ruled safe. April Howser took off from third base, scoring the tying run when the throw from second to home sailed over the catcher’s head.
Taylor, who advanced on the errant throw, rounded third but collided with the Lebanon fielder and the third base umpire immediately signaled interference.
Taylor got up and continued toward home, getting stuck in a run-down before eventually being tagged out at the plate.
After talking it over, the umpires ruled the interference — a delayed call by rule — occurred as Taylor was heading home, awarding her the base and, ultimately, the Pioneers the state title.
“I always tell my players I’ll leave it all out there for them,” Taylor said. “I guess that’s just what was running through my head. I knew it was a close game and I knew I was the goahead run so I did everything I could to score.
“I was just thinking score and hopefully (the umpires) would call it and there was nothing else I could do after that.”
The final minutes before the game was officially ruled over were filled with nerves and confusion before the signal from the home umpire incited an eruption from the Elyria faithful.
“I really felt like we could come back and win it in the bottom of the seventh,” Fenik said. “Those guys believed and they played the emotion (and), again, the community today was unbelievable.
“Early on the fans, I think really gave us momentum by being so loud. They had to start signing their numbers instead of calling them out, they were so loud. It was great. That’s one of the greatest games I’ve ever been a part of.”
Lebanon coach Brian Kindell was obviously disappointed by the result, but more so by what transpired at the end as the coach openly disagreed with the interference call.
“I told them they deserved more today from me, they deserved more from the people around them and it just didn’t happen,” Kindell said of his message to the team.
“One thing we’ve talked about all year is the outcome in life is never what happens to you, it’s how you respond to everything that is placed upon you. … I know they’ll respond in a positive way in time.”
Lost in the chaos of the final half inning was another Taylor game-changer — a double play in the fifth inning that kept the score tied at two.
With two outs, Lebanon’s Madison Hartman hit an RBI single to left center field when Taylor snagged the ball and threw home, getting the out at the plate before catcher Maycee Godbolt caught the runner heading to third to end the Warriors’ threat.
“I told (pitcher) Izzie (St. Peter), because we had a meeting before that (play), I said, ‘Iz, just trust us. Let them put the ball in play and trust your defense,’ and she let them put the ball in play and I did what I could to stop another run from scoring,” Taylor said.
A little over a month ago, Elyria (22-4) had lost three in a row and didn’t look like it could win at the district level, let alone a state championship, but as Fenik said, this is a team with a bond like no other, and the Pioneers buckled down to become the best D-I team in Ohio.
“They’re great athletes, they’re great teammates and they’re special young people,” Fenik said of his team.
“This has been an unbelievable year and I don’t know if it would’ve been so special, but when you see a team, like, we were really low that part in the season, and to see them come together as a group not just for today’s softball game but in life.
“I hope they understand, the whole 15 of them, they can do anything they put their mind to.”