ARCANUM – Arcanum uses strong 4th inning bolstered on a 3-run homer by Paige Burrell to break open a 1-1 game to go up 7-1 and then went on to claim a 10-1 win over Ansonia giving them an outright Western Ohio Athletic Conference Softball championship.
It was a close contest and a pitchers dual for the first 3 innings but the Trojans manufactured a run in the first inning to go up 1-0 where the score remained until the top of the 4th.
The Tigers senior Kinsey Hartzell knocked a double and then stole 3rd base moments later. Hartzell had 2 hits for the Tigers, the only 2 given up in the game by Arcanum pitcher Hannah Kendig.
After a Kendig walk and runners at 1st and 3rd coach Morris called a timeout for a meeting on the mound to discuss strategy that became apparent when the runner attempted to steal 2nd and the throw from catcher Morgan Weaver was on the money and tag applied by Emily Fout got them an out but also allowed Hartzell to score tying the game at 1-1.
Arcanum would then get out of the inning without any further damage.
But the bottom of the 4th and the 2nd time through the line-up would end up paying dividends for Arcanum as they touched up Ansonia pitcher Abby Kramer.
Kenzie Byrne led off the inning drawing a walk and advanced to third on a perfectly placed base hit bunt by Emilie Fout. That was then followed by a long blast by Paige Burrell over the left field fence that fired up the Lady Trojans to jump in front 4-1.
The Trojans then got a hit from Reece Blinn followed by a double from Brooklyn Ullery putting runners on 2nd and 3rd. Ashlyn Millers long fly ball to center sacrificed Blinn for an RBI and moments a hit by Grace Fry scored Ullery. Then a double by Kaitlyn Toy brought Fry home to give the Trojans a commanding lead going into the top of the 5th inning and the Tigers needed to respond.
But a strong pitching performance by Kendig would hold up as she went the full 7 innings giving up just 2 hits, with 4 based on balls and 7 strikeouts as the Tigers were unable to put anything together for a comeback.
Arcanum would have one more highlight in the bottom of the 6th inning for some insurance runs on a blast from Brooklyn Ullery over center field fence a two-run dinger as the Trojans went on to win 10-1.
The Trojans are a senior laden team and they came up big when the team needed them and it started with the big shot from Paige Burrell who explained how important it is to have good team chemistry.
“We have great team chemistry this year. I think everybody has really stepped up and is playing their role this year. And it’s just a fun time. Everybody’s always up and encouraging everybody when something goes wrong and it’s just a fun atmosphere to play in,” Burrell said after the game.
Brooklyn Ullery added to that … “This team has a way of making big plays when we need it and even when we start slow we don’t panic because we know someone will pick us up,” Ullery stated.
Senior Kaitlyn Toy said, “We been on really good teams for the last couple of years and now it’s our turn we’ve all have played together since like seven or eight years old and so we’re really close and we’ve been around each other enough to know like oh, this person needs picked up this person doesn’t like getting picked up and we’re around each other enough to know like what to do when someone’s like does something bad or makes a mistake? Whether if it’s like go give them a high five telomere okay or just like try to breathe for a minute or two,” Toy commented.
That experience and understanding has helped lead the team to the WOAC championship but for Coach Mike Morris there is a much bigger expectation for the team.
“Winning the league is an extra bonus. We got this, now we just got to continue to get better and because our focus is on a deep tournament run, try to get a district title and back to regionals and beyond,” Morris exclaimed.
The Trojans are 10-0 in the league and still have one game remaining with Newton and even with a loss would have an outright championship, but Toy and the Trojans want to go undefeated.
“We still got one game left with Newton on Tuesday, and we want that game, we want to go undefeated in the league and use that to propel us into the post season,” Toy concluded.
With great pitching, good hitting and fielding and a senior group of girls who enjoy each other and are having fun, it’s a great recipe for future success. Senior players are Reece Blinn, Paige Burrell, Mollie Ericksen, Shelby Haye, Hannah Rademachir, Kaitlyn Toy and Brooklyn Ullery.
After the Newton game the Trojans have non-conference games with powerhouse teams Russia and Minster left on their schedule giving Coach Morris the type of competition he wants to prepare his team for post season.
