The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Keystone team celebrates with parade
LaGrange community honors Division II state champions
What seemed like the entire community of LaGrange turned out in support of the most recent Keystone state softball championship June 26 when the team paraded down Main Street in the village’s downtown.
The team was escorted by police, firefighters and joined by Wildcats softball players of the past and future while spectators lined the street.
The parade began with an escort by local law enforcement followed by dozens and dozens of little league softball players from the local LaGrange teams. Representatives from Keystone’s three previous state championship teams followed closely behind, before the 2018 Wildcats rounded out the parade in a grand finale.
The parade convened at LaGrange Community Park, where the community joined in a brief ceremony and celebration as LaGrange Mayor Kim Strauss and members of Keystone Schools’ administration offered words of congratulations. Then the team handed over its state championship trophy to Athletic Director Gina Gibson for it will be enshrined at the high school.
“The parade was definitely the second-happiest I’ve been since winning the actual game,” recent Keystone graduate Madi Nunez said. “This is so great to see the whole community supporting us and to see the signs that say ‘Future Champions,’ it’s just great.”
Gibson, with some help from Keystone coach Jim Piazza, organized the event from start to finish. With all the recognition the team’s been receiving throughout the state, they wanted a celebration that could be shared in a community that’s tightly woven in the fabric of the softball program.
After putting their heads together, Gibson and Piazza came up with a theme of “past, present and future” that would honor the three state championship teams from years past as well as give the future Wildcats, the young girls holding the ‘Future State Champion’ signs, something to aspire to.
“We never want to take for granted what the success of our softball does, means and is part of the fabric of our community,” Gibson said. “It’s about pausing for a moment and making sure everyone remembers how special it is that we have a program that continues to dominate the way it does.
“Very quickly I realized that we had quite a network of coaches and Hot Stove directors and board members that were at our fingertips. All we did was put out a couple phone calls and before you know it people were giggling and laughing and getting excited for getting all of our young ladies involved in this day. I think it just speaks to what we do here at Keystone.”
“I wanted to make sure the younger kids were involved and we always talk about the girls in the past who set the standard and we want them to know we haven’t forgotten what they’ve done for our program,” Piazza added.
Family, friends and fans of Keystone softball lingered for hours after the ceremony, enjoying food provided members of the town and sharing stories of a season that still feels like a whirlwind, not quite wanting the evening to end.
The recognition continues as the team will head to Columbus on June 27 to be honored at the statehouse. The Wildcats will be brought onto the field at a Lake Erie Crushers game in the coming weeks.
“They’re almost saying, ‘Why are we getting all this attention?,’” Piazza said. “That’s how this group has been all year. They never worried about stats. They’re like, ‘Wow, really? They want us?’ And with these younger kids here it’s only going to take our program to another level.
“You see why this program is so good. The community backing of this is just unbelievable. It’s overwhelming.”