SOFTBALL Mooney and LaBrae meet in Div. III final

The Cardinals and Vikings will play at 5 p.m. today.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
MASSILLON -- It's going to take the Mooney and LaBrae softball teams at least five hours longer to see which squad will be earning its first trip to state.
Moments after LaBrae defeated Wellington, 3-2, in eight innings on Thursday, Vikings coach Chad Kiser and Mooney coach Mark Rinehart huddled with tournament director Keith Herring to see if the noon game could be postponed a few hours because of LaBrae's graduation ceremonies.
Friday, the OHSAA agreed to push the game back. Weather permitting, Mooney (19-8) and LaBrae (14-6) will play at 5 p.m. today for the Division III regional crown at Genshaft Park.
"It should be a darn good game -- I think we are evenly matched," Kiser said.
Rinehart also predicted a close contest.
"They have three pitchers who are interchangeable and experienced," Rinehart said after watching the Vikings rally from a 2-0 deficit against Wellington (22-6). "LaBrae is a big strong team, with a lot of aggressive free swingers."
"Anybody who comes out of the [Trumbull Athletic Conference] is pretty battle-tested," Rinehart said.
Impressive seasons
The Cardinals and Vikings are better than their records indicate. Because of an early-season loss to Ursuline, Mooney finished second to the Irish in the Steel Valley Conference.
Mooney's non-league schedule included games against Boardman, Poland, Canfield, Champion and Uniontown Lake (thought to be the best team in the state).
"When we played Champion, we had a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth, then lost on a walkoff homer," Rinehart said.
The Vikings know a little about Champion, losing twice to the defending regional champion in the regular season by one run.
In tournament play, the Vikings edged Ursuline, 2-1, in the sectional final, then beat state-ranked Champion (24-2), 2-0, in eight innings.
In the district final, the Vikings avenged two regular season losses to Newton Falls with a 9-5 triumph for the Orwell crown.
"Losing to them two times before, we felt like underdogs [going to district] and nobody expected us to win," Kiser said. "We knew all season that we were right there with them and that gave us a push."
Strong players
Both teams have solid lineups.
"We have had had different heroes throughout the season," Rinehart said.
Entering regional play, five Mooney batters have batting averages of at least .380: Dana Palazzo (.456), Gina Brunetti (.400), Mara Palombaro (.400), DiAndra Dibacco (.380) and Mimi Vitello (.380).
The top six batters for the Vikings have been key in tournament games: Anjelica Pugh, Morgan Briscoe, Kim Calderwood, Lia Gordon and the Higgins twins -- Lindsay and Stepfanie.
Injuries have affected both pitching staffs. When Mooney's Stepfanie Grimaldi suffered a rotator cuff injury, sophomore Colleen Courtney stepped in and has excelled.
For the Vikings, Lindsay Higgins is considered their fastest pitcher, but injuries she and Stepfanie sustained in a car accident three weeks ago have not fully healed.
Kiser used Calderwood to defeat Ursuline and has been relieving Lindsay with Stepfanie in recent games.
"We love it," said Lindsay of the pitching rotation. "Right now, Stepf is our strongest pitcher, so we start with me or [Calderwood]. Personally, I can't last as long because of the car accident. Stepfanie is really doing well and strong job closing, and it's working."
Division IV
With Wednesday's 5-2 win over Cuyahoga Heights, the Maplewood Rockets (19-3) have matched their best record in school history.
A win today against Bellaire St. John Central Catholic could send the Rockets to state for the first time, but it won't be easy.
St. John pitcher Meghan Johnson (22-1) has 226 strikeouts this year and blanked Western Reserve, 2-0, on Thursday.
Rockets coach Dave Flickinger will send Markie Pozzuto (15-2) to the mound to duel with Johnson in the noon game at Kent State University.
williams@vindy.com