With a song in her heart, ace helps Raiders advance

Sophomore Madison Yanek led the South Range past the Springfield Tigers, 3-1, for a district berth.

By TOM WILLIAMS

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

NEW MIDDLETOWN — Most softball observers would agree that a pitcher working on her sixth consecutive shutout is cool enough to hear a Simon Cowell critique and not blink.

South Range sophomore pitcher Madison Yanek is a firm believer that music helps when the heat is on.

Facing Inter Tri-County League Tier One rival Springfield in Friday’s Division III sectional final, Yanek faced Tigers in scoring position three times.

She escaped twice and only permitted an unearned run in the seventh inning as South Range hung on for a 3-1 victory to advance to next week’s district tournament in Lisbon.

“Madison’s pitching has been tremendous,” South Range coach Jeff DeRose said after his ace scattered five hits and struck out six for her 15th win. “I was nervous, I’m not going to lie to you, but at the same time I was confident in Madison. She never gets rattled.”

Not exactly.

“I was shaking like crazy and I was trying to not let my nerves get to me,” Yanek said about the fourth inning when Springfield had Rebecca Evan on third base and Jessica Evan at second with one out.

Yanek struck out Shala Maldonado and retired Devon Sowers on a ground ball to first baseman Gab Naples to escape the jam.

Asked how she reduces stress on the mound, Yankek said, “Honestly I sing a song to myself and it relaxes me. I try to think of all the good times I’ve had with my team.”

Asked if the song changes from game to game, Yanek smiled.

“It’s the same song ... ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game,’” Yanek said. “I just sing it to myself.”

Her melody first surfaced in the first inning when Ashley Davis and Rebecca Evan hit two-out singles. Yanek whiffed Jessica Evan on a full-count pitch to end the threat.

Yanek let her bat do the screaming during the third inning when she connected for a two-out, two-run single to score Chelsea Leson and Emily Seman for a 2-0 lead.

In the fifth inning, her single moved Laura Biroschak to second base where she scored on Naples’ single for a three-run lead.

The Tigers were far from finished.

In the sixth inning, Tigers left fielder Andria Lyons made a diving catch in left field to rob Leson of a hit.

Down to their last out in the seventh inning, Morgan Fagnano singled and took third when Breanne Mincher’s flyball was dropped in the outfield. Fagnano scored when another flyball was bobbled to put the tying run on base.

“That’s when I was freaking out,” Naples said. “I told my team ‘we need to get this last out.’ I was scared that another error would give them three runs and the game would keep going.”

Five pitches later, Yanek caught a popup off Davis’ bat to end the game.

“Springfield made some very nice catches — they are a heckuva ballteam,” DeRose said, referring to how the teams split in the regular season. “No disrespect to [ITCL1 champion] Lisbon, but I think we beat the best team in the ITCL today.”

The Raiders were facing Tigers senior Erica Burkey for the first time as an illness prevented her from playing until mid-April. Burkey tossed a four-hitter, striking out four.

Naples calls the win “huge,” adding that before game, “we were all nervous because we won the first game by one and lost the second game by one. We knew this was going to be tough.”

In Thursday’s district semifinal, South Range (18-6) will play Champion, winner of the All-American Conference Blue Tier.

Naples said the youthful Raiders’ goal is “we just want to make a name for ourselves, not only for this year, but in years to come.”

williams@vindy.com