The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Nunez’s homer beats wind, Hoover
In almost an instant, the weather at the Prebis Memorial Classic at LaGrange Community Park changed from bright blue skies to wind and a driving rainstorm that put day one of the annual tournament up in the air.
Looking to get in game one, host Keystone beat out the rain with a brilliant 10-0 run-rule affair with North Canton Hoover, thanks to a timely grand slam by Madi Nunez that put the Wildcats up in the bottom of the fifth.
Just as high winds and a strong rain came into the area around the third inning of the Keystone matchup, the Wildcats started to piece together some timely hitting to get on a roll after an early 1-0 lead. Scoring five runs in the home half of the third, Ali Pyles broke open the
game with a two-run double that gave Keystone a 6-0 edge.
Making quick work of the Vikings in the fourth, the Wildcats again jumped on North Canton Hoover’s pitching by being patient and waiting for the right pitch. Stepping into the batter’s box with the bases loaded and the wind whipping at speeds up to 40 mph, Nunez ripped a pitch to straight-away center that hung in the air and cleared the centerfield fence as a roar rose from her team’s bench.
“That ball had to have been smoked because that wind was blowing in hard, so for her to hit a home run in that wind, it was pretty impressive,” Keystone coach Jim Piazza said. “I love this group of girls. They’re just s focused. They have a great time. You watch them and you don’t think they’re taking serious, but that’s their way and we’re happy with the way they’re playing right now.”
Looking just to make good contact on the pitch, Nunez said she just honed in advice from another sport she participates in — karate.
“I don’t really think about how hard I want to hit it. Coach just always tells me to chop the board, because I’m in karate,” Nunez said. “He always just tells me, ‘Just chop the board’ and that’s what I think about.”
Getting contributions from top to bottom of the lineup, starter Sydney Campbell was on a roll with her lineup feeding into her confidence and shut down the Vikings.
“It boosted my confidence about 10 times more than when I started,” Campbell said. “I always think, no matter the score, I’m going to pitch my best and every pitch is going to be the best pitch that I can throw. I try not to let the score get to me, because I kind of let myself down with the finish if we’re up by a bunch.”
Staying strong throughout her outing, Campbell got her biggest motivator when she watched Nunez’s long drive.
“Oh no, I did not expect that (with the weather),” Campbell said. “But that was honestly great. It was a huge confidence boost going into the fifth.”
Piazza said it was very meaningful to see everything come together so perfectly, especially with the weather nearly ending the game early.
“It’s always awesome to get games in and it looks like we have a nice window that everything is going to clear out for the rest of the games,” Piazza said. “It was just good for these kids to come out and play hard right from the beginning and really want it.”