Howland upsets Boardman in Division I final

Pitcher Barbie Lewis threw a three-hit shutout in the Tigers' 2-0 win.
& lt;a href=mailto:scalzo@vindy.com & gt;By JOE SCALZO & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- The smiles were the first things that were noticed.
Howland High catcher Kristina Ferenac was smiling. Second baseman Amy Cornicelli was laughing. And pitcher Barbie Lewis, well, she was smiling, laughing, nodding and, above all else, pitching the best game of her career.
Oh, and she was winning. Do not forget that.
Boardman began the Division I district final Wednesday against Howland as the top-ranked softball team in the state.
But the Tigers weren't in awe. They were loose. Heck, they were just happy to be there.
"It's so much harder to be in Boardman's shoes," Howland coach Brian Earich said. "The underdog is the greatest role there is."
First district title
Lewis, six months after tearing an ACL in a soccer game, threw a three-hit shutout to lead the Tigers to their first district title in school history, a 2-0 victory at Fields of Dreams.
"Their pitcher did a good job but we had our chances," Boardman coach Bill Amero said. "We didn't take advantage."
Lewis wasn't overpowering -- she struck out just two and walked three -- but the Spartans (27-2) had few good scoring chances.
Their last hope came in the seventh when Jen Feret led off with a walk and one out later Krysta Sylvester reached on catcher's interference. But Lewis struck out Melanie Lodyn looking and Jacyln Corroto hit a line drive into Lewis' glove to end the game.
"It was just a reaction," Lewis said of the catch.
Her next reaction was to jump into the arms of her catcher, Kristina Ferenac.
"I got real nervous when they got the two runners on," Lewis (17-4) said. "But they always tell me I'm at my best under pressure."
When asked about her performance, Earich smiled and said, "What can I say? It was stellar. It was clutch."
Soccer saga
Ironically, Lewis wasn't even supposed to be pitching this game -- or any game this season. She injured her knee on Oct. 5 -- she remembers the exact day -- and the first thing that went through her mind was, "Oh no, I can't play softball."
She had surgery three weeks later. It normally takes six months to return. She did it in four.
The Tigers will play Medina (23-3) in a regional semifinal next week.
Howland scored both runs in the second -- aided by two Boardman errors. Ferenac reached on an error to start the inning. Cornicelli followed with a single to score Ferenac when the relay throw was mishandled at home. One out later, Joy hit an RBI single.
Maybe the game's biggest play came in the bottom of the second inning. After Feret singled with two outs, Ashley DiDomenico hit a double to left center, which was cut off by Howland center fielder Darcy Quinlan. Quinlan fired the ball to shortstop Meredith Schneider, who threw a perfect strike to Ferenac to get Feret at home.
Boardman pitcher Jennifer Pancake (21-2) gave up six hits, striking out two and walking one to get the loss.
"Boardman is hands down the best team in the state and now we know we can compete with anyone else," Earich said. "That's how we take it."
& lt;a href=mailto:scalzok@vindy.com & gt;scalzo@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;