Hubbard to hit road for semifinal

The Eagles defeated Struthers to advance.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
HUBBARD -- For the first time in many years, the Hubbard High softball team will play a district game away from its home field.
But next Monday's one-hour road trip on state Route 11 to Jefferson won't be nearly as unusual as how the Eagles (12-9) earned the right to go.
Despite making six errors, Hubbard defeated Struthers 6-4 in eight innings on Monday, thanks to two-run rallies in the seventh and eighth frames.
How's this for strange? The Wildcats (8-12) led 3-2 in the sixth inning before they recorded their first hit against Hubbard freshman Gabby Flynn.
"They were finally patient," Hubbard coach Ken Miller said of his batters, who struggled timing the pitches of Struthers senior Michelle Zanni. "We are not a very experienced team."
Tying run
Hubbard's Natalie Bata doubled to lead off the seventh inning and scored the tying run after a sacrifice bunt and Danielle DeJulio's groundout. With two outs, junior third baseman Stephanie Zubyk atoned for two throwing errors with her first over-the-fence hit.
"Awesome -- I felt it right when I hit it," Zubyk said. "I knew it was going out -- I was so excited."
The Eagles' inexperience showed in the bottom of the seventh inning when No. 9 hitter Steph Sahli reached on an error, then scored after two wild pitches to force the extra inning.
"It was really exciting going into the eighth inning because we knew we had a shot," Zanni said. "Even though we lost, I'm not ashamed -- everybody did really well."
Flynn shook off whatever frustrations she was feeling by lining the first pitch of the eighth inning into the right-field corner for a triple. Kim Budd doubled her home on the next pitch and then scored on an error.
Asked whether the triple or her pitching success was more satisfying, Flynn responded, "The triple, because I wasn't expecting that. I didn't know how hard I had hit it until I heard [Miller, the third-base coach] shout 'three.'"
Semifinal ahead
Next up for the Eagles will be a district semifinal game against Ashtabula Edgewood, which defeated Jefferson 2-1 in eight innings.
"It doesn't matter," said Zubyk of the trip to Jefferson. "I like bus trips -- it gives us a chance to relax after school ends and think about the game."
The Eagles looked like they would cruise when they scored twice in the first inning after DeJulio walked and Zubyk, Flynn and Budd singled.
Zanni credited her teammates for not panicking.
"We knew that if our attitudes got down, we would lose," Zanni said. "So we tried to keep everyone up, and I think that really help us. We fought hard for the whole game."
The Wildcats scored single runs in the first, fourth and fifth innings.
"We held them down as long as we could," Struthers coach Tom Krestel said. "They are a good hitting team. Our kids gave everything they had -- we fought back twice."
Despite the errors, Flynn was able to strand four baserunners.
"For a freshman, she did a good job," said Miller after Flynn's two-hitter. "She was a little nervous; then she got a little excited."
Zanni and Niki McGuire singled for Struthers' hits. Amanda Ruozzo scored in the first and fifth innings while McGuire scored in the fourth.
"They were a decent team -- we didn't know what to expect," Zubyk said. "We don't usually hit well against slower pitchers. Today, we got lucky."
williams@vindy.com