The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Rivalry win is sweet
North defeats South for first time in six years
There was no conference championship on the line when North met South under the lights at Todd Field on May 14.
It’s not like there was tournament pressure on the teams either, with both the Rangers and Rebels having been ousted from the Division I tournament already.
But when freshman Amanda Dobida struck out the final batter of the game, cementing the Rangers’ 6-2 win, a raucous celebration ensued on the field.
That’s because:
A) The win came against the Rangers’ most heated rival; and
B) It had been six years since North beat South in softball, the last time being in 2015 in a 12-6 game — again, at Todd Field.
“It’s so exciting, especially being our senior,” said North catcher Adri George. “It’s what you dream of, playing South and everything . ... We weren’t going to slip up. We hit the ball hard.
“This is everything you’d ever want.”
George was a big deciding factor in the game. She doubled in the first inning then then came home on Jess Dodd’s sharp RBI single - one of three hits on the day for Dodd.
Then with her team leading, 2-0, George blasted a
home run to center in the second inning for her sixth round-tripper of the year. A new program record. George had never hit a home run until this season.
“I said if there’s one thing I wanted this season, it was for her to hit a home run,” said North coach Taylor Braddock of a conversation she and George had on an early-season bus rid. “She got a home run that game and now has the school record.
The Rangers (13-5) scored four other runs throughout the game, but they didn’t need them. Dobida pitched a six-hitter and didn’t give up a run until two unearned tallies came across in the seventh
inning.
“A little cold in the batter’s box,” South coach Matt Burk said. “We waited til the seventh to hit and when you wait that late to hit, it’s hard to come back in a game.”
Burk credited North for not only its hot start, but for working the count against South ace Emily Kelly, who walked an uncharacteristic nine batters.
“The attacked our mistakes early,” Burk said of North’s early lead. “That was a turning point in the game.”
Halie Wilson drove in three runs, with Dodd and Juliana Augusta each driving in one. Dodd steamed home from second on Wilson’s
single in the seventh.
“I expect a lot out of our seniors,” said Braddock. “They were ready for this tonight. They were pumped. They wanted to win. This is something they’ve been waiting for and they shined in the moment. The pressure wasn’t too big for them.”
Neither was it for Dobida, starting her first North-South game.
“It’s a different atmosphere under the lights,” Dobida said. “It’s a big team win, especially for the seniors in their last game.”
South (14-8) and North are scheduled to play their season finale on May 19, but the North seniors might not play, Braddock said.