The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Division III Avon Lake District final is set
Wellington advanced to the district final after surviving a slugfest with CVCA, while Elyria Catholic fell to stateranked Independence in the other district semifinal.
In a matchup in which offense came early and often, second-seeded Wellington outlasted sixth-seeded Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, 15-12, in a Division III Avon Lake District semifinal at Avon Lake High School on May 15.
Wellington advances to face top-seeded Independence (20-3) in the district final on May 17 at 3:30 p.m. at Avon Lake.
After a combined 27 runs, 32 hits, eight errors and five pitching changes, it was the Dukes (18-7) who had the last laugh as they escaped with the unexpectedly high scoring victory.
Although, no one was laughing.
“Yeah, we didn’t really play very good defense,” Dukes coach Duane Sunagel said. “We’re glad to come out of here with a win. You know, when you score 15 runs, you expect to have a little bit of a breather, but we couldn’t relax at all.”
Both teams connected for towering shots over the left field fence in the opening inning, as the Royals’ Lauren McNeil hammered the first of her two homers on the night, only to have the Dukes’ Brooklinn Damiano answer right back with an equalizer to the same spot.
The early runs were a sign of things to come as
the Dukes erupted for eight runs in the bottom of the third inning while sending 11 batters to the plate.
Kendal Brasee got the action started with a twoRBI double, scoring Allissa Boraggina and Hope Diermyer. Makaylin Moore and Rianna Rosecrans followed up with RBI doubles. The inning continued to spiral out of control for the Royals (11-9), including a
two-RBI double from Lexi Wright.
Wellington’s Amber Wetherbee tallied a single in the inning, but she wasn’t done there. She finished a perfect 4-for-4 on the night with three singles and a double.
She was glad to be a part of an offense that was in rhythm all game.
“It feels so good to help my team out, honestly,”
Wetherbee said.
The Dukes took a 9-1 lead into the top of the fourth, only to have CVCA fight their way back in it with four runs in the fourth, and another four runs in the fifth, including Gia Gerzeny’s RBI single, Lexi Clement’s two-RBI double and another solo shot from McNeil.
The Royals had cut the lead down to 10-9.
With the bases loaded and the Royals threatening in the top of the fifth, Sunagel went to Rosecrans to close out the contest. She allowed a few runs, not including a handful of unearned runs, but buckled down for three innings of pressure-filled work.
“I just said, ‘I got this. My defense has my back. Let them put it in play, and we got it,’” Rosecrans said.
In addition to her clutch work in the circle, Rosecrans went 3-for-4, including two singles, a double and three RBI.
She offered her take on why the bats were cranking.
“We always say hitting is contagious, and I think that is mainly why we got all those hits, because one hit after the other, they just kept coming,” Rosecrans said.
Wellington added four more runs in the fifth, and one in the sixth, including Rosecrans’ two RBI single, and an RBI single from Payton Regal.
As they have all season, CVCA fought tooth-and-nail down to the last out. Wellington whiffed on an infield play, allowing a pair of Royals to score, cutting the lead to 15-12.
After a few deep breaths, Rosecrans closed out the Royals, recording the last out with an abrupt catch in the infield.
“I felt it hit my glove, but I didn’t expect to catch it,” Rosecrans said. “For me, I just want to put myself out there for the team, and try to get the win.”