Champion state-bound

The Golden Flashes rode the five-hit, six strikeout pitching of Kasey Karr.
By JOHN BASSETTI
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
MASSILLON -- As the fifth batter in the bottom of the seventh inning, Emily Hayes hit the first pitch to lift Champion over Ursuline, 4-2, in the Division III regional championship game Saturday at Genshaft Park.
Hayes' two-out hit scored Jaclyn Carpenter and Hillary Beachy to end what had become a see-saw softball game between a team that was making its first regional championship appearance and a three-time state champion that most recently reached the state tournament in 2004.
Hayes, one of five seniors -- all infielders -- who graduated during ceremonies Saturday morning, said that Ursuline's Ashley Koval (12-6) threw her a pitch she expected.
"She threw me the same exact pitch every single time I was up," Hayes said of an inside and low offering.
"I just turned on it and pulled it," Hayes said of the high hit down the left-field baseline.
It wasn't so much a changeup, it was just how she threw it.
"I knew what she was doing," the Champion heroine said. "She did it every time."
Irish had lead
After Ursuline (18-11) took a 1-0 lead when Mary Hendricks scored on Kelly Podolsky's bunt. Then the Golden Flashes (20-6) tied it in the fourth when Cara Popadak's triple plated Katie Saluga who had doubled.
The Golden Flashes went ahead, 2-1, in the bottom of the fifth when Beachy's single over the first-base bag knocked in Nicole Weaver.
It seemed that once Champion pitcher Kasey Karr took the mound in the sixth, she took control by striking out two Irish and inducing another to fly out.
Karr, who was sophomore when the Golden Flashes went to state last, said there really wasn't a specific event that triggered her mastery in the sixth, except that she mixed in more changeups and curveballs and switched her routine.
"I came out that inning and started throwing more changeups," Karr said. "I switched up my game plan a little bit and it worked."
Ursuline coach Mike Kernan noticed the difference, too, saying that Karr hesitated with pitches a little more.
"She not only did a good job spotting her pitches, but her timing between pitches was a little different here and there," Kernan said. "She's a very smart, good pitcher with everything else she has going for her."
Not so fast
However, Ursuline didn't let Champion get away without sweating it out.
That's because the Irish tied the game, 2-2, in the top of the seventh when Karr overthrew a bunted ball she picked up after it came off of Podolsky's bat. Hendricks ran home during the play.
Everyone, including Kernan, seemed to think highly of the batting order that Champion brought to the plate for the final time.
Hayes said she and teammates had complete confidence.
"I still don't doubt it," the game's clutch-hitting player said. "We're going to the ship. We're winning the ship," Hayes said in anticipation of the state tournament.
Friday at 3 p.m. at Ashland's Brookside Park, the Golden Flashes play Brookville (24-3) in a state semifinal.
Kernan said he was happy that his girls knotted the score, 2-2, but when he saw the top of Champion's order coming around, he had concerns.
"We knew it was the meat of their order with Carpenter leading off. Plus, it was the fourth time they'd seen Koval, so you knew they were going to be on to what she was throwing at them."
Kernan also felt that his team left too many runners stranded.
"We didn't get the big hits, but you've got to give credit to Kasey Karr," Kernan said. "She pitched a heck of a game. Our strength is hitting and she controlled that pretty well and kind of minimized our hits."
He said Ursuline faced good pitchers before, but with Karr, "you could tell there's a little intangible, something different than other pitchers I've seen. She was definitely ready to carry the load for that team."
Champion coach Cheryl Weaver said that her girls have gotten used to close games.
"We've been through this before," Weaver said. "We made a couple mistakes, but the girls just keep fighting."
bassetti@vindy.com