The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Brantley’s grand slam wasted in loss
Freshman Dean leads Avon to win in the circle and at the plate
Avon continued to roll in a 7-4 win over arch-rival Avon Lake at home on May 1 behind freshman Jesse Dean, who got it done offensively and in the circle.
Dean drove in three runs and pitched the final two innings in relief to close the deal.
The Eagles improve to 10-5, and the Shoregals drop to 7-8.
“I think everyone in the lineup has contributed a lot this season,” Dean said. “One through nine, everyone has stepped up in tough situations and it’s really helped us out to have a strong lineup all the way through. It’s always a challenge to play Avon Lake, all their players are good. Their pitcher especially we always have a challenge against her. I think we’re doing really good right now and we’re going to keep bringing the momentum.”
Tied, 3-3, in the bottom of the sixth, the Eagles erupted for four runs. After Casey Traine and Amanda Holtzman reached base, Amanda Demerele drove in a run with an infield single.
Two batters later, Dean ripped a two-run double and Taryn Bolen tacked on a RBI sacrifice fly
for a 7-3 lead. The Shoregals scratched one more run in the seventh from Paige Schwark before Dean shut the door.
The Eagles boasted 10 hits and jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind RBI from Dean in the first inning and Kaitlyn Huff and Demerele in the second inning.
Eagles starter Mel McGregor kept Avon Lake at bay until the third inning when Gwyn Lester ripped a two-run single, scoring Liz Thieken and Schwark. McGregor sturck out five.
Shoregals starter Lexi Anderson wiggled out of a fourth-inning jam. After allowing three runners on base, she got out unscathed.
In the sixth, Lester struck again, belting a solo shot to centerfield to tie it, 3-3. Anderson ripped a double after that before the Shoregals got robbed of a RBI from Bolen at third base saving a run. The Shoregals had 10 hits, but left six runners on base.
“Our bats were quiet tonight,” Avon Lake coach Jana Peachman said. “We came alive too late and we weren’t making good contact at the plate. I think we were hitting some pitches that we should not have hit and we weren’t working the count. We were 1-2-3 in a couple innings and we couldn’t make good contact tonight. Gwyn’s home run and Lexi’s double in the sixth brought some spirit back into us, and that was a turning point for our bats to start hitting again. Gwyn has the prettiest swing. She’s worked really hard through the years and when she gets a hold of one, she can crank one out.”
Coming off a big win over Bellevue at the Prebis Memorial Classic, the young Eagles are confident.
“We got timely hitting for sure,” Avon coach Ken Matuszak said. “We also missed on a lot of opportunities. They beat us, 11-2, the first time around and I thought we did a good job of being resilient. We had a great weekend at the Prebis going 2-1 and won yesterday at Lakewood. Today we come back and beat a team that beat us, 11-2, the first time. We’re so young with mostly freshmen and sophomores. That’s what we’ve been dealt with and we’re trying to improve every day.”