DIVISION III SOFTBALL LaBrae beats Champion, Newton Falls advances

It will be an all-TAC final, just not the one many expected.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
ORWELL -- As expected, today's Division III district final at Grand Valley Middle School will be a Trumbull Athletic Conference showdown.
But the best team in the area's best overall league -- make that the best team in Trumbull County -- won't be in either dugout.
Tuesday, the LaBrae High softball team manufactured two runs in the eighth inning off one of the state's top pitchers to defeat state-ranked Champion, 2-0, in perhaps the biggest victory ever for the LaBrae program.
"I'm sure there have been some big wins in the past, but for me, in the four years I've coached, this is definitely the biggest," LaBrae (12-6) coach Chad Kiser said after the Vikings defeated Kasey Karr, last year's Vindicator Softball Performer of the Year.
Nerve wracking
Angelica Pugh's triple, Kim Calderwood's single and six shutout innings of relief pitching by Stepfanie Higgins combined to bring an end to the Golden Flashes' (24-2) season.
Two of LaBrae's five one-run losses were against Champion, one in nine innings. Another was to Newton Falls in 10 innings.
"We knew it was going to be a battle," Kiser said of facing Karr. "We hit the ball well all day and it wasn't just the top of the order."
Pugh, a freshman, led off LaBrae's eighth inning with a triple after a line-drive off her bat eluded Champion left fielder Jessica Bova's diving effort.
"I didn't see it -- I just ran as far as I could," said Pugh, who described standing on third base as the potential winning run as being "very nerve-racking."
Catching a break
Morgan Briscoe bunted, but third baseman Cara Popadak chose not to throw to first base to keep Pugh on third.
After Briscoe stole second base uncontested, Calderwood, the hero of last week's tournament win over Ursuline, smashed a hard shot that deflected off Popadak's glove into foul territory, bringing home Pugh and Briscoe.
"That was a tough play, with the third baseman in," Kiser said. "We finally caught a break when the ball hit [Briscoe] in the back as she was trying to score."
After that, Higgins completed the game, striking out two and retiring a third on a ground out.
Sister act
"It feels so good because we haven't been able to do it for the last couple of years," said Higgins who relieved her twin sister, Lindsey, in the third inning.
The Higgins sisters switched positions (pitcher and catcher), with Stepfanie inheriting runners at third (Jaclyn Carpenter) and second (Karr) with nobody out.
Higgins retired the heart of Champion's order with a strikeout and two comebackers to the mound to keep the game scoreless.
"We have the luxury of three good pitchers," said Kiser, referring to the Higgins twins and Calderwood. "I had all three warm up before the game and Calderwood, to her credit, was honest and said, 'Coach, I'm just not hitting my spots.' "
Still struggling
Two weeks ago, the Higgins were in an auto accident and Stepfanie said Lindsey hasn't fully mended from pain to her collarbone, a neck vertebrae and two ligaments.
"She's still struggling," Stepfanie said. "They don't know what's wrong with her -- she's still hurting but she just can't stop playing."
Kiser decided to start Lindsey because "she's probably our fastest pitcher speed-wise. In our first game against Champion, she threw eight scoreless innings."
Kiser made the switch because he noticed that Lindsey's speed was slowing down in the second inning.
Stepfanie allowed one hit in six innings.
Newton Falls 5, Badger 0
In the other district semifinal, Emily Montgomery's two-run double in the third inning propelled the Tigers (20-4) to their second win of the season over Badger. Marisa Matas also had a RBI double.
"We've come a long way this year," Newton Falls coach Tami Sinn said. "We are mostly freshmen and sophomores, and this is the furthest we've gone in tournament. No one expected us to have 20 wins, so we've proven a lot."
williams@vindy.com