The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
HIGH-POWERED AMHERST SOARS PAST FIRESTONE
Comets advance to third straight Division I district championship game
All season, third seed Amherst’s calling card on offense has been speed at the top of the lineup and power to bring runners home.
On May 16, the Comets’ offense ran like a well-oiled machine in a Division I, Avon Lake District semifinal to streak past 14th-seeded Firestone, 11-1.
The Comets (16-8) advance to play in the their third consecutive district final on May 18 in Avon Lake.
The game concluded in five innings after left fielder Kristen Kelley hit a two-run single to close out the game.
“Honesty, when I get up (to plate), I don’t really think. All I really think is (to) hit the ball,” Kelley said.
She finished with two hits with two RBI.
Amherst came out the gates firing, scoring three runs in the first inning and six in the second inning to jump to a 9-0 lead over Firestone (16-4).
Both Sadlers, Brianna and younger sister Navaeh got on base at least once in the first two innings. Both crossd home plate because of senior center fielder Rachel Miller, who was at their fourth spot in the lineup.
“When the two Sadlers get (on-base), they are really fun to watch,” Comets’ coach Lacey Reichert said. “You have two AllOhioan hitters behind them in (Cassidy) Kettleman, Miller, and then you add a kid like Kristen Kelley, who’s having a great year as well. They are swinging with a lot of confidence.”
Being named second-team All-Ohioan boosted Miller’s confidence before playing Firestone. She smacked a two-run double in the first and a two-run homer in the second to start the game off leading, 6-0.
“Being named secondteam All-Ohioan was a real confidence booster for me as well,” Miller said. “Whatever I’m doing, don’t change anything. I can’t look too far into anything. It’s (the postseason) … So I’m going to keep the same approach.”
Off of two hits, she batted in two runs with a home run.
“I knew the pitcher (Madison Dies) was throwing a lot of changeups. So I had to be patient and wait for my pitch,” Miller said. “I had the same approach from all of my at-bats. I’m just looking for my zone, (which is middle inside). I always try to hit the ball as hard as I can. I didn’t think the ball was going out. I saw it was kind of high… and it dropped over the fence.”
Amherst fielded well with no errors to perform a near shutout. The Falcons put their only run on the board with a single from Katie Emery in the fifth inning with the bases loaded. The Comets escaped the inning with good fielding from Kettleman at shortstop and a groundout to the pitch.
In five innings pitched, starting pitcher Sierra Dorobek threw two strikeouts, with one earned run off of five hits.
Despite the runs in the first two innings, Reichert wanted more later in the game.
“After (the second inning) I thought our approaches weren’t spectacular, and they know that,” she said. “Whoever we play next, we are going to have to play better offensively than our couple of at-bats today.”