PONY SOFTBALL Ferree keys win for Valley Extreme

Rachel Pico pitched Valley Extreme to a 7-0 win and into the "Sweet 16."
By ZACH STIPE
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
NEW MIDDLETOWN -- After smacking her second home run over the left-field fence to give Valley Extreme Red a 5-0 lead, catcher Kate Ferree was mobbed by her excited teammates.
"Katie, what steroids are you on?" joked left fielder Bianca Biondillo.
"I'm not on steroids," Ferree said back, laughing. "I'm on Tylenol."
Ferree's two home runs and a complete game shutout by pitcher Rachel Pico on Friday vaulted Extreme into the "Sweet 16" of the 16-and-under PONY national softball championships.
Extreme defeated the Spring-Ford Sting of Vienna, Pa., 7-0, at Springfield Park in a rematch of an earlier tournament game.
Extreme will open the single-elimination portion of the tournament at 9:30 a.m. today at the Thunderplex in Vienna.
Ferree's first home run, a two-run blast clearing the left-field fence, followed an RBI single by center fielder Carly Sabot in the first inning.
Assistant coach Jack Pico predicted Ferree's first smash.
"When she keeps her head on the ball she can hit it every time," he said.
Ferree connects again
Ferree's second shot was a solo blast that just cleared the left-center field fence with one out in the fourth inning. The 16-year-old catcher's second home run gave Extreme a 6-0 lead and was her fifth homer with the Valley squad this summer.
"I feel wonderful," said Ferree, who attends Austintown Fitch High, of smashing two home runs. "I love it."
"She's amazing," Biondillo added. "I don't know how she does it."
Biondillo, of Canfield, didn't have a bad day either. The 15-year-old tallied three hits, including an RBI single in the third inning.
She said she isn't looking to hit home runs like her teammate, but is just trying advance runners.
"I'm just trying to get people home," she said.
Right fielder Sam Kozbial and third baseman Carrie Fiol added RBI singles in the second and fifth innings.
Extreme had 14 hits, including two hits by Kozbial.
Pico is dominant
Rachel Pico was dominant, as well. In her second start against the Sting in three days, the Warren JFK ace struck out six and allowed only three hits over six innings for her second shutout of the tournament.
On Wednesday, Pico allowed one run on two hits during Extreme's 5-1 win over the Sting.
Pico said that facing the team for the second time in three days was very helpful.
"You know what to expect," she said.
The 15-year-old gave credit to her teammates for helping her pitch her second shutout of the tournament.
"It's a lot easier to pitch [shutouts] with a [defense] like we have," she said.
Needs four more wins
Extreme improved to 6-0 in the tournament and will need to win four more games today to be crowned national champions.
"We've worked all year for this," coach Rick Mills said. "We've had an incredible July. We've played just tremendous ball."
Mills and Jack Pico credited the team as a whole for coming together.
"[Its been] a total team effort," Mills said.
"For an all-star team these girls have really bought into the team concept," Jack Pico added.
Biondillo agreed with her coaches.
"They're amazing," she said of her teammates. "They never get down."
The excited outfielder, who will be a sophomore at Canfield this fall, hopes the comforts of playing so close to home will help Extreme win a national championship.
"We are gonna win," Biondillo said, making a prediction. "I think we have an advantage because we get extra rest."