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Erin Gabriel tosses no-hitter for Poland
By Jim Flick
JEFFERSON
Erin Gabriel pitched a no-hitter and drove in two runs to lead Poland to a 3-0 victory over Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin on Thursday in a Division II district softball semifinal.
The win advanced Poland (25-1) to the championship game against Ashtabula Edgewood, which will be played at 4:30 p.m. today at JAGS Fields.
Gabriel’s pitching was dominant and controlled from the start. She needed only nine pitches to strike out the side in the first inning. She threw only 24 pitches to strike out NDCL’s first seven hitters of the game.
Gabriel (17-0) struck out 14 for the game and walked only one; only one other batter reached base for NDCL (20-9), on an error.
NDCL pitcher Kourtney Nyegard (10-4) kept Poland’s offense under control until the fifth.
Poland’s Nicole White led off by rapping a single to deep right. After Jessica D’Apolito walked, Kalie Benson bunted an infield single to load the bases.
After an out, Megan Hirschbeck drove a high fly to foul territory just in front of the fence. After a NDCL outfielder caught the ball, White dashed home with the game’s first run.
The next batter was Gabriel, who slapped a double into left field to give Poland a 3-0 lead.
Gabriel foiled NDCL’s attempts to score in the last two innings by striking out three more batters.
“All my defenders were awesome behind me,” Gabriel said. “They’ve been good all year, but we’ve never played that well before.”
Gabriel, a junior, also credited the team’s seniors with getting the team focused.
“They told us, ‘This is it ladies. One loss and we’re done.’ It worked.”
Coach Reid Lamport said Gabriel’s performance was not unusual.
“She’s been giving us that all year long,” he said.
But Gabriel didn’t even pitch her best game, according to the coach. He said Gabriel struck out 20 in a game earlier this year.
Today’s game against Ashtabula Edgewood will be a rematch of last year’s division championship, a 15-inning battle that ended with a 2-0 win by Poland.
“We’ve had some very competitive games against them,” Lamport said.