Irish rally to regional finale

Ursuline will play Champion on Saturday at 5 p.m. in Massillon.
By ZACH STIPE
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
MASSILLON -- A dark cloud loomed overhead during Ursuline High and Navarre Fairless' Division III softball regional semifinal, but instead of thunder, lightning and rain engulfing the field, it was the bats of the Irish that struck Genshaft Park on Thursday.
The Irish (18-10), held scoreless through the first three innings, were spurred to victory by a four-run fourth inning and held on to win 8-6 over Fairless (21-6).
"This was the most runs we've given up all year," Fairless coach Dan McGrath said.
Fairless had shut out 10 of their last 11 opponents.
Fairless pitcher Bre Willis was perfect through the first three innings, retiring the Irish's entire lineup.
Once Ursuline saw Willis again, it was a different story.
Tough schedule
Irish coach Mike Kernan said the Irish's schedule allowed them to face many other good pitchers, which prepared them for Willis.
"It's a matter of the kids making themselves better, knowing how to hit those pitches and they adjusted," Kernan said.
Trailing 2-0, Irish center fielder Jolanta Carkido opened the bottom of the fourth with a single.
"If you are the first batter, you just have to focus," the junior said. "You have to watch it right down the middle and rip it."
Two batters after Carkido, Natalie Palermo added another single. Next up was catcher Ashley Siembieda. The senior smashed the ball into the outfield for a triple that scored Palermo and Carkido, tying the score.
Irish catalysts
Kernan said Siembieda's hit was the catalyst for the Irish.
"I think that kind of jump-started [us] because she brought in two runs," Kernan said. "At that point, our team just kind of woke up.
"We got a little bit of confidence and we were like 'OK we can do this.' That was pretty big hit."
Ursuline wasn't done, though. After Jenna Klempay struck out, Angelina Joseph smashed a triple over Fairless center fielder Kristen Gromes' head that scored Siembieda and gave the Irish a lead they would never relinquish.
"As a team we really came together and strung out some hits. We really had it going," Siembieda said.
Carkido and Siembieda did more of the same in the fifth inning. Carkido led off with another single, while Siembieda smashed another extra base hit and earned a RBI.
Senior Vannessa Dickson ripped a double in the fifth that scored Carkido, as well.
The rout was on and at the end of the fifth, the Irish held a commanding 8-2 lead.
The game did not start out well for the Irish. Not only were Ursuline's bats silent through the first three innings, they struggled defensively.
Irish errors
The Irish made four errors in the third and fourth innings, helping Fairless take a 2-0 lead.
The Falcons scored a pair of runs in both the fifth and sixth innings.
Koval (12-5) pitched a complete game for the Irish and Carkido and Siembieda each tallied two hits.
The Irish return to Genshaft Field on Saturday at 5 p.m. to play Champion in the regional finals.
Kernan is excited to face Champion, which defeated the Irish in the district finals in 2004.
"I'm pretty ecstatic that we know for sure, from Youngstown-Warren, Ohio, we're going to have one representative at state for Division III," Kernan said. "I'm just hoping it's us."