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Mahoning, Trumbull all-stars split doubleheader
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Ashley Davis (32) of Springfi eld and Mahoning County slides home safely as Melissa Weitzman, right, of Girard and Trumbull County applies the tag during Wednesday’s high school softball all-star game at Mauthe Park in Struthers.
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From left, Mahoning County players Vickie Farris (Cardinal Mooney), Anna Donko (Ursuline), Casey Lower (Ursuline), Nicole White (Poland) and Cory Pavlicko (Lowellville) exchange congratulations at Wednesday’s high school softball allstar game in Struthers.
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LISA ANN ISHIHARA | THE VINDICATOR...Ursuline Casey Lower (22) pitches for Mahoning County against Trumbull County during the 2010 High School Softball All Stars game at Mauthe Park in Struthers, Wednesday June 16, 2010
Mahoning, Trumbull all-stars split doubleheader
By TOM WILLIAMS
STRUTHERS
The seventh Mahoning Valley Senior High School Fast-Pitch All-Star Doubleheader began as a tribute to the World Cup.
It finished resembling the NBA Finals.
In Wednesday’s first game between seniors from Mahoning and Trumbull high schools, Ursuline’s Casey Lower and Niles’ Aubrey Hale tossed three scoreless innings before the Mahoning bats woke up.
Mahoning scored three times in the fourth inning and added six runs in the fifth for a 9-0 romp at Mauthe Park.
In the nightcap, Trumbull bats responded with their own nine runs, with two of them coming in the bottom of the seventh inning in a 9-8 victory.
Lower, who has an academic scholarship to Columbia University, was the dominant player in the opener, striking out 11 batters and scattering four hits in tossing the shutout.
Catcher Sarah Ingalls, who has been Lower’s backstop for the past two seasons, said she and Lower were thrilled when they heard that Mahoning coach Anthony Gentile was going to use them as the first game’s battery.
“It was great,” said Ingalls who will play for Youngstown State. “After our last loss, we were devastated because we created so much chemistry the past two seasons.”
After finishing Division III runners-up in 2009, the Irish were ousted in a district semifinal by their archrival Mooney.
“We just thought it was [over] so we were just so excited when Coach [Michael] Kernan gave us the call to tell us that we were going to pitch and catch,” said Ingalls who had two RBIs in the win. “We were ecstatic.
“It’s just great to finish off my [high school] catching career with the best pitcher.”
Lower, who graduated as Ursuline’s salutatorian with a grade-point average of 4.3, said she “never expected to get into Columbia.
“[Kernan] encouraged me to apply but I never dreamed that I would actually get in — it’s such a good school,” said Lower whose 85 career wins has her in Ohio’s Top Ten.
How did she react when she was accepted to the Ivy League school?
“The first 24 hours was shock,” Lower said. “My grandparents were excited, my Mom was excited, then I was excited.”
Lower, who is undecided on a major, said she made a two-day visit to the campus in Manhattan before making her decision.
“My other top choice was Oberlin,” said Lower whose ACT score is 32. “I wanted to take it again to see if I could do better, but my Mom was like ‘you already got into the school you wanted to get in to — why do you need to take it again?’ I like standardized tests — they’re fun.”
Lower said she plans to play for Columbia “but I know my studies come first. So if I have trouble keeping up with my schoolwork and softball, obviously, softball is the first thing to go.”
Poland’s Nicole White hit a leadoff single in the fourth inning sparked Mahoning to a 3-0 lead. Mooney’s Vickie Farris drove in the first two runs and Springfield’s Andria Lyons the third.
Asked about teaming up with archrivals like Lower, Ingalls, Anna Donko and Kasey Foley, Mooney’s Christina Hrehor called the doubleheader “fun. It was different being on the same team because of how Mooney and Ursuline are.”
In the second game, Trumbull trailed 8-7 in the bottom of the seventh inning. With one out, Southington’s Haley Hancovsky singled then took second base when a pickoff attempt was off target.
Hale hit a deep fly ball to center field where Struthers’ Jackie Deem raced back, twisted around and touched the ball with her glove.
Hancovsky scored to tie the game and Hale stopped at third base.
Warren Harding’s Angie Custer then blooped a single beyond first base to score Hale with the winning run.
“That’s the first time ever,” said Custer of her game-winning hit. “I really didn’t think I was going to hit anything, I was kind of scared at first.
“And then I thought it went foul,” Custer said. “Somebody said foul and it was like ‘OK’. Then I was confused [when someone else said] ‘That’s it, that’s it. And I was like, ‘Yea! Go me!’”
Powering Trumbull’s five-run outburst in the second inning was Niles’ Lindsay Bates with a two-run double and Howland’s Carla Cope, who is 4-foot-11, with a RBI triple.
“We just kept finding holes in the outfield and infield,” said Cope of the second game. “I was pretty pumped to get the RBI because they all moved in because I’m so little so it was nice to hit it over their heads.”