No tricks, just a treat: Fitch drops Solon, 2-0

The Falcons will meet Canfield in today's Division I district final.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- For the second straight Thursday tournament game at the same softball complex, the Fitch High softball team won by the same score -- 2-0 -- on another sixth-inning two-run homer.
Are the Falcons, easily the Mahoning Valley's most improved team, employing magic?
No, said senior third baseman Andrea Lucente, a four-year letterman who was part of last season's 1-21 nightmare.
"I don't think it's magic, I think it's taking [advantage of] an opportunity to do something that we haven't done in a long time," Lucente said of the Falcons' first district title game since the late '90s.
Are they living a dream?
No, said pitcher Jen Purnell (13-9), whose two-run homer was the difference against Solon (10-12) in the district semifinal game at Boardman's Fields of Dreams.
"A dream? No, because we knew [a good season] could be a reality and deep down we could accomplish anything," the senior pitcher, who had 10 strikeouts, said.
On the brink
Today at 4:30 p.m. at the Fields of Dreams, Fitch (14-9) will play Canfield (21-4) for a berth in next week's regional tournament at the University of Akron.
"After a season like last year, never in a million years would I have dreamed that we would be playing for [the district crown]," Lucente said. "We're always the underdog and we like it that way. We like surprising everybody."
Last week, the Falcons stunned Federal League rival Boardman, 2-0, when junior shortstop Nicole Smaldino hit a two-out homer in the Falcons' final at-bat.
Purnell broke up an excellent pitching duel against Solon's Teddi Jacobson with she swatted a 2-2 pitch over the left-center field fence. Scoring from first base was Meredith McHenry, who had drawn a one-out walk.
Purnell was dominant on the mound in recording her second consecutive tournament shutout, scattering four hits and stranding five baserunners.
"I came out with butterflies, but after the first pitch they were gone," Purnell said. "I just felt stronger as I kept going."
Asked which was more exciting -- the shutout or the game-winning blast -- Purnell didn't hesitate.
"My two-run homer because that was my first career homer. What a great time to pull that one, huh?"
Jacobson gave up three hits and stranded one runner before Purnell's homer.
Uncommon hits
In the first inning, Purnell led off with a single and was caught stealing second base. Senior left fielder Bre Alleman had the other hit with a one-out single in the third inning.
"She had a good riseball -- you saw a lot of our girls swinging at high pitches and missing," Lucente said of Jacobson, "and she was accurate."
Lucente and Purnell credit the Fitch program's reversal of fortune to first-year varsity coach Melody Rice.
"She pushes every girl on this team to do her best and she doesn't settle for anything less," Lucente said.
Purnell added, "Andrea and I have had four different coaching staffs throughout our four years on varsity, and this is the most dedicated, motivated staff. They put everything into it. And their time is really appreciated."
Rice calls the Falcons' tournament run "a bit unbelievable, but the girls truly want it and have been working year-round for it, and I can see the determination and excitement in their eyes."
williams@vindy.com