Lorain splits twin bill with Rocky River

The Pirates won the first game with a walkoff, 12-11, but pitcher Alexis Leyva and the Titans “woke up” in the second game to win handily, 16-5.

Lorain split a doubleheader at Rocky River on May 5, losing, 12-11, in walkoff fashion in Game 1 before bouncing back for a 16-5 win in Game 2.

In Game 1, both teams exchanged runs throughout, and the Pirates jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the the third after senior Elayna Hallal ripped a two-run double, scoring Lizzy Kysela and Amelia Milner.

But Lorain began to rally, scoring a run in the fourth with an inside-the-park home run from Katherine Mills, and in the fifth, after a RBI from Alexis Leyva, Mills smacked a three-run

home run to even it, 7-7.

In the seventh, the Titans regained the lead when Leyva ripped a tworun double, Yazmyn Faria sacrificed home a run, and Tatiana Marrero hit an RBI infield single to extend the lead to 11-7.

The Pirates didn’t go away.

In the bottom half, Marrisa Smiley singled, scoring Catie Wolons, later setting up a two-run double from Elayna Hallal to cut it to 11-10.

After Caitlin Kelly got on, Amanda Jones hit a hard ball to the shortstop and forced a throwing error to first base, scoring two runs for the walkoff.

Hallal finished 2-for-4 with four RBI, Wolons went 3-for-3 and Aguilar went 2-for-4 with three RBI.

“I’ve had a rough year hitting-wise and after getting my first hit, I just went up there with confidence and I tried to pull through for my team,” Hallal said about her two RBI. “My team really cheered me to pull through and that helped me, and we always try to do that for each other.

“Going into the postseason, we have the ability to do well and we have the ability to beat our firstround opponent and I’m excited about what we can do.”

Pirates starter Marissa Smiley pitched 6 1/3 innings.

“We kept telling the girls to stay positive and stay in it,” Rocky River coach Jeffrey Hammond said. “Put the ball in play and they’ll make mistakes. We had the seniors keeping the girls motivated. Lorain’s hitting is on par and they can hit the ball well. They’re a team that can do some damage if they get past the first round. But I keep telling our team, just get the first one when we go into the tournament. If we can get the first, we’ll see what happens.”

That was never any doubt in Game 2, as the Titans had 16 hits. Leyva, starting for the second straight game, was in better control, holding the Pirates to six hits and yielding three earned runs.

The Titans scored 10 runs in the first, with Leyva’s two-run homer starting things off. After Faria drove in a run, Marrero followed with a two-run shot for a 5-0 lead.

Talia Harris, Leyva and Mills drove in more runs for the 10-0 lead. Lorain extended its lead to 13-0 in the third when Garcia and Harris each drove in a run.

Leyva finished 3-for-5 with six RBI, Marrero went 2-for-4 with three RBI and Mill went 3-for-4 with two RBI.

“The first game we weren’t woken up yet and the second game we came back and showed them what team we really were,” Leyva said. “We came back, ate food and put our hearts out on the field. I’m really confident in my team, I feel like we have a chance in the postseason.”

Lorain improved to 14-5, and Rocky River dropped to 6-13.

“I just told them we were the better team,” Lorain coach Pam Jackson said. “We didn’t make the plays in the first game, not to take anything away from Rocky River because they took advantage of all the pitches we left up there hanging. Alexis is tough and she wants to pitch every game. I don’t think she was awake for the first game, and in the second game once she got something in her system, she woke up and wanted that game badly.

“Offensively, I think we’re doing really well and defensively, if we could keep our composure, I think we can do well in the postseason.”