Relaxed Flashes enjoying the ride

Sophomore Kasey Karr will try to help Champion win its first state title since 1994.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CHAMPION -- Where was Champion High softball coach Cheryl Weaver in 1994, when the Golden Flashes last won a state championship?
"I was just a parent living in Champion," she said.
Weaver was also a big Champion softball fan. In fact, she still remembers driving to Ashland to watch the tournament with Amanda Packman, the mother of current Champion center fielder Meghan Packman.
"That's when Jackie Beavers was the pitcher, and they had a heck of a team," Weaver said.
The Golden Flashes, then coached by Gene Cheredar, defeated LaGrange Keystone 5-0 for the Division II title.
"It would be a great 10-year reunion to win it again, and that's what we're shooting for," said Weaver.
State-bound
On Thursday, Weaver, in her fifth year as coach, will lead the Golden Flashes (22-5) into Ashland for a Div. III state semifinal against Woodsfield Monroe Central (30-0).
"It's just a big thing in Champion; it's a tradition," Weaver said of the sport. "Not that we're there all the time, but we've been there and we know it can be done. Once you've done it, you know you can do it again."
This Champion team doesn't win in dominating fashion. Instead, it finds ways to win, and it approaches games with a care-free attitude.
"We take it seriously, but we're not overly serious," sophomore second baseman Emily Hayes said. "We don't care who our competition is. We just want to go out there and play."
Pitcher perfect
At the center of Champion's run is a sophomore pitcher, Kasey Karr (13-1), who acts more like a veteran than an underclassman.
She threw a perfect game in the district semifinal against Newton Falls and a two-hitter in the regional semifinal against Navarre Fairless.
"I'm able to keep my cool out there on the mound better," Karr said, when asked to describe the improvement she's made since her freshman year.
"I've pitched so many games with travel ball [Valley Sting] that it just feels great, like everything's paying off," she said.
Hayes added of her classmate, "She's always been pretty strong and real confident, but her speed has picked up this year and her control is a little bit better."
Carrying momentum
Champion, which also won Class AA state titles in 1978 and 1980, is riding high since a 5-4, eight-inning win over Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy in the regional final.
The Golden Flashes rallied from a 4-0 deficit and won on junior Alyshia Brink's two-out single that scored courtesy runner Brittany Skeels.
"It was quite a ride," Hayes recalled. "It all came together in the last couple of innings. You think you're going to lose for a little bit, and then the team pulls together."
Hayes played a big part in Champion's surge down the stretch. On May 4, she hit a walk-off grand slam that rallied the Golden Flashes past Newton Falls in a key Trumbull Athletic Conference game.
Since then, Champion has lost once.
"We really started to pull together then," sophomore third baseman Jaclyn Carpenter said.
Hayes' hit also proved to Champion that there are no limits.
"Anything can happen," Weaver stressed.
The Golden Flashes don't plan to change their routine this week in preparation for state. Why would they?
"Just keep playing ball the way we've been playing," Weaver said. "Stay relaxed and just keep believing."
richesson@vindy.com