The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
State champion Elyria girls honored
Pioneers still drawing recognition for state softball title
In the almost three weeks it has been since winning the Division I state championship, the recognition continues for the Elyria softball team.
On June 22, the Pioneers were honored at Sprenger Stadium
before the start of the Lake Erie Crushers’ series finale with Washington.
“It’s really nice to be recognized and get together one last time,” Elyria shortstop and recent graduate Madison Cruzado said. “I’m sure we’ll hang out during the summer, but as a team, we’re all here, we’re all celebrating. It’s just a good time.”
It was the first time players and coaches were all together again since that thrilling weekend in Akron, and coach Ken Fenik said the team deserves all the recognition it’s getting for nabbing the school’s third softball state championship June 3.
“The girls deserve it,” Fenik said. “They worked hard for that state championship . ... I’ve had people tell me that was the best game they’ve ever seen.”
Even Cruzado said she and her teammates still get stopped “all the time” by Elyria fans wanting to offer congratulations.
“People stop and say, ‘Hey! Are you on the softball team?’ They even stop the parents if they recognize them just to congratulate,” Cruzado said. “The community support was amazing throughout the entire season so it’s great to be recognized for what we accomplished.”
The Pioneers also celebrated with their annual team picnic and awards ceremony before heading over to Sprenger Stadium, and Fenik said he’s looking forward to some relaxation after putting the finishing touches on the 2017 season.
“It’s been pretty nonstop,” Fenik said. “A lot of school emails from a lot of people, former players.
“There’s still a few organizational things I need to take care of and then after that it’s time to go to the lake and relax a little bit.”
Washington at Crushers
After snapping a sixgame losing skid a day earlier, the Crushers fell back on the losing side with a 5-2 loss to Washington (19-16) June 22 in the teams’ series finale.
The Wild Things took the series, 2-1, and hold a 4-2 lead on the season over the Crushers.
Jordan Dean got the scoring going early for Lake Erie with a first-inning home run, but Washington responded with a five-run second inning to which the Crushers had no answer.
Steve Hagen (3-3) took the loss for the Crushers (14-22) who remain in last place in the East Division at 13 games back. Hagen pitched five innings, giving up five runs on eight hits while striking out three. Parker Norris hit an RBI single in the third to give the Crushers their only other run of the night.
Lake Erie will finish its homestand with a threegame weekend series with the fourth-place Traverse City Beach Bums (16-19).