Pioneers run wild on bases in victory

Defending Division I state champion Elyria opened up the postseason by crushing No. 8 Westlake, 14-0.

Defending Division I state champion Elyria flexed its muscles as it opened up the postseason by crushing No. 8 Westlake, 14-0, in five innings at home in a Division I Avon Lake District sectional final on May 10.

Elyria advances to face No. 4 Midview in a district semifinal at Avon Lake High School on May 16 at 4 p.m.

The top-seeded Pioneers (20-4), who are ranked No. 7 in the latest D-I state poll, used a combination of power and aggressive base running to force the Demons (11-13) into a handful of errors, which allowed Elyria to pour it on.

Elyria tallied two runs to open the game, followed by five in the second inning and six in the third inning, quickly eclipsing the 10run rule.

“We put the ball on the ground, and our base runners — we like to call them rabbits — they did the rest,” Pioneers coach Ken Fenik said. “We had some good hits also, but it seemed like they were ready to play from the start.”

Elyria began its attack in the bottom of the first with Jessica Chapman’s double. She quickly

took third, setting up a comebacker to the circle from April Howser. An overthrow at first base allowed Chapman to score.

Howser, a senior, went 3-for-4 with a triple, a single, a double and two RBI.

“We definitely wanted to get our hits, bunts and move people and run, just start off aggressive,” Howser said.

Senior Cassie Miller added an RBI single.

Elyria’s nifty base running was on display in the second, as junior Damia Parks doubled and stole third. Keearah Williams followed with a RBI single, extending the lead to 3-0. Williams found her way home on a wild pitch.

Williams went 3-for-3 with a triple, two singles and three RBI.

After shutting down Lorain for six innings in her previous matchup, Westlake pitcher Stehanie Randar (8-9) faced a daunting task in trying to slow down the high-powered Pioneers. She went six innings, allowing 15 hits, 12 earned runs with one walk and one strikeout.

Chapman’s sacrifice RBI made it 5-0.

Elyria’s Maycee Godbolt

put the icing on the cake with a two-run homer to center field, her sixth.

The sophomore slugger wasn’t quite sure the ball would make it out of the park.

“I didn’t, I didn’t, I was just going up there looking for a hit because I grounded out my first atbat, and I just wanted to make contact,” Godbolt said.

She believes the tandem of aggressive base running and powerful hitting go hand-in-hand for Elyria’s success.

“I think both are very important because if you don’t get a hit, you can’t run the bases,” Godbolt said. “When we run the bases like crazy, it just shakes up the defense.”

The Pioneers continued the onslaught with six runs in the third, including Williams’ RBI triple, Macy Taylor’s RBI single and Isabella St. Peter’s RBI double.

St. Peter (16-2) was solid in the circle, going three innings while allowing two hits and striking out four. Sophomore Madison Olszewski pitched the final two innings.

Fenik praised his sophomore ace. “We had two in the first inning, and that really helped us, especially for Izzy,” he said. “She pitched real well.”